ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday submitted an intra-court appeal in the Islamabad High Court against the decision of reinstatement of Chaudhry Rashid Ahmed as chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), DawnNews reported.

In the appeal, the federal government has taken on the position that Ahmed’s appointment was made in violation of Article 10 of the Pemra ordinance.

On Dec 16, Rashid was sacked after his appointment was declared illegal.

Later, on Dec 26, IHC’s Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan cancelled the notification of Ahmed’s sacking and ordered his reinstatement as chairman of the media regulatory authority.

Ahmed had been appointed by the previous PPP government as the Pemra head on Jan 28, 2013 for a four-year term after the Supreme Court ordered the government to fill the post which had been vacant since 2010.

However, the PML-N government maintained that the appointment had not been made through a transparent process, and that Ahmed did not meet the criteria specified by the Pemra ordinance.