ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court directed the federal government on Friday to appoint a new chief executive officer of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) within 45 days, declaring the appointment of incumbent CEO “illegal” from day one.

All the decisions taken by Drap under the incumbent, Dr Muhammad Aslam, however, will remain legally valid and the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), or the CEO, can appeal against the ruling delivered by Justice Athar Minallah.

Drap was created in 2012 by law for effective coordination and enforcement of the Drugs Act 1976, and to harmonise inter-provincial trade and commerce of therapeutic goods.

But for more than two years it was run by acting CEOs whose term the Drap Act 2012 restricts to a maximum of three months.

Dr Aslam, who holds PhD in Pharmacy, was appointed CEO in January 2015 on a three-year contract, extendable for another one year. However, despite his generally good work in that capacity, he was the target of criticism from several quarters who took their grievances to courts.

On Friday Justice Athar Minallah declared Dr Aslam’s appointment “illegal ab initio”.

Advocate High Court Ali Nawaz Kharal, who fought a case filed by Mirza Abdul Rehman, told Dawn that the court’s ruling relied upon the decision given by Jawwad S Khawaja (in Ashraf Tiwana case 2013).

“Dr Aslam cannot work anymore,” he said. “The government should start the process of appointing a new Drap CEO.”

Senior Advocate Supreme Court Khawaja Farooq Mehta, who represented Muhammad Usman in another case, said conflict of interest was revealed during the hearing as Dr Aslam emerged a shareholder in a pharmaceutical company.

Moreover, the Establishment Division confirmed in a letter to the court that candidate Dr Aslam was overage for the post.

Dr Aslam could not be contacted despite many attempts.

A senior officer of Ministry on NHS, requesting anonymity, however, said that Dr Aslam was less than 56 years old, when he applied for the post. But it took a long time to complete the process of appointment and he became overage. “So opinion can be sought from the law division in that regard,” he said.

A decision whether to challenge the ruling or start the process of appointing a new CEO would be made only after the court’s written order is received, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2017