ISLAMABAD, Aug 15: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court issued on Thursday a notice to the federal government on a petition filed against the appointment of Agha Jan Akhtar as chairman of the Port Qasim Authority and Mohammad Siddique Memon as chairman of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.

Malik Karim Bakhsh, a citizen, has claimed in his petition that the appointments have been made in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgment of June 12 which directed the federal government to make appointments in statutory bodies, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, regulatory authorities and all government-controlled corporations, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies through a commission.

The judgment says “the commission should be mandated to ensure that all public appointments are made solely on merits”. Among its functions, the commission will chair selection panels for appointing heads of public/statutory bodies and investigate complaints about unfair appointment process.

“The commission must ensure that no public appointment could take place without its recommendation.”

The apex court directed the establishment secretary to communicate the judgment to all other divisions, ministries, organisations, etc. for its implementation.

The petitioner, through his counsel Raja Inam Amin Minhas, pleaded before the IHC that the information and broadcasting secretary advertised various posts of managing directors and chief executive officers in different government departments without following the guidelines settled by the Supreme Court in its June 12 judgment.

He said it was beyond the mandate of the information secretary to get the advertisements published because he had nothing to do with the appointments of chairmen of the PQA and PNSC.

“The advertisements should have been routed through the commission which is yet to be constituted by the federal government,” said advocate Minhas.

He alleged that the government made the appointments without interviewing eligible candidates in contravention of basic human rights.

The petitioner requested the court to declare these appointments illegal and order the authorities concerned to make all appointments in government bodies and departments in a transparent manner strictly through the proposed commission.