ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The jury is still out: what exactly moved the prime minister's principal secretary to interject in to the affairs of the civic agency of the capital by appointing a task force to oversee its workings.

For the time being though the notification has ruffled quite a few feathers, and unsurprisingly has all the parties involved to become territorial.

The notification about the appointment of a three-member task force headed by Faisal Sakhi Butt was issued by the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Khushnood Lashari in December 2011.

A copy of it was made available to Dawn and reads: 'The Prime Minister is pleased to appoint the following Task Force to oversee the affairs of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) ... Mr Faisal Sakhi Butt, Nargis Faiz Malik and Asad Mumtaz Khan.

The other two members Nargis Faiz Malik, an MPA from Punjab, and Asad Mumtaz, PPP president Islamabadare aware of their latest appointment but have yet to receive a copy of the notice.

According to Roy Nawaz Karal, an advocate of the Supreme Court, the notification issued by the principal secretary has no legal validity: 'It is against the CDA Ordinance 1960, which does not provide for any individual or a task force to 'oversee' the affairs of the CDA.

Mr Kharal, who was once a legal adviser to the civic agency, said: 'Firstly, the task force cannot supervise the affairs of the CDA. Secondly, the task force can only make recommendations to the prime minister over what it thinks could be done for the betterment of the city. It cannot suggest anything directly to the CDA' However, task force member Nargis Faiz Malik does not accept this legal opinion, and claimed: 'Obviously the CDA chairman is answerable to the committee and we are answerable to the prime minister. Our job is to look after the development affairs of the city and monitor them.

When Dawn approached CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal for his comments, he said: 'I have not seen any such notification but I know that it was issued by the principal secretary to the prime minister and it does exist.

To a question about whether the CDA is answerable and accountable to the task force, the chairman asserted: 'Going by the CDA Ordinance we are only answerable to the prime minister, parliament of Pakistanits committees and the secretary of the Cabinet Division. We are not answerable to any task force member.

Asked what would be the role of the task force then, Mr Iqbal replied: 'It can only make suggestions and advise the CDA over new projects. The final call to go ahead with the project lies with us though.

Mr Iqbal claimed that the CDA was an independent agency and could not be pressured or influenced: 'Nobody can put pressure on any of my members on any development project or any project related to the city. Besides it is misleading to say that Mr Butt will play a role in the projects of the authority.

It is pertinent to mention here that Mr Butt first came under the spotlight when he was appointed as the private administrator of the elite Gun and Country Club a few years back by the office of the president. He is often associated by political figures as one of the close friends of President Asif Ali Zardari. Currently, there are various publicity hoardings in the city that have Mr Butt requesting the citizens to register themselves as voters.

Dawn enquired from the chairman what were Mr Butt's credentials that qualified him as the head of the task force, to which Mr Iqbal replied: 'Mr Butt is a notable of the city and a respectable individual. The prime minister has the power to appoint notables and respected individuals from the city to give input through such task forces to any institution. For instance, in the Prime Minister's Safety Commission, respectable individuals such as Moeen Haider were appointed to assist the commission.

The chairman added that Mr Butt has been appearing in different events of the CDA as a guest and that he had no concerns over his participation in different events organised by the city.

Meanwhile, when Mr Butt was approached on his mobile number, Dawn was informed by his aide: 'Faisal Butt sahib is out of the country. I can't say anything since he is due to return this Saturday.