PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday sought replies within a fortnight from speakers of National Assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and two other lawmakers in a petition seeking their disqualification on ground of allegedly promoting nepotism in appointments and promotions of officers in the assembly secretariat.

The bench of Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Syed Afsar Shah issued the order after preliminary hearing of the writ petition filed by Shah Faisal, a resident of Nowshera district, seeking multiple reliefs from the court.

The petitioner requests the court to disqualify National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on account of carrying out illegal and unconstitutional activities in his stint as speaker of the provincial assembly or in alternate his case may be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan for further action.

Petitioner has also accused two lawmakers of nepotism

The petitioner also requests the court to disqualify the present speaker of provincial assembly, Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, and MPAs Dr Amjid Ali, who is also a provincial minister, and Rangez Khan by declaring as void the notification issued by ECP on Aug 7 of declaring them elected from their respective constituencies as they have been hit by Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Ali Azim Afridi, the counsel of the petitioner, mentioned several judgments of the Peshawar High Court and KP Services Tribunal mostly related to appointments and promotions of officers in the assembly during tenure of Asad Qaiser and Mushtaq Ghani.

When the bench inquired whether the high court could disqualify a lawmaker under the Constitution, he referred to the case of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani stating that he was disqualified for committing contempt of the court.

Ali Azim referred to a judgment delivered by a three-member Services Tribunal on December 10 wherein it held both the speakers responsible for promoting cronyism and nepotism at the cost of merit and transparency.

The counsel stated that the tribunal had ruled: “By now it has been established beyond any shadow of doubt that the former and the present speaker etc have one point agenda to promote cronyism, nepotism and favouritism at the cost of merit, transparency, fairness, equality and justice.”

He states that the tribunal had added: “It amounts to misuse of official authority and is open to cognisance/ judicial scrutiny by the quarters concerned.”

The counsel said that the tribunal had accepted an appeal of a senior additional secretary of the assembly, Kifayatullah Khan Afridi, and declared as illegal

decision of the departmental promotion committee of August 11, 2017, and subsequent notification issued on August 15, 2017, by the then assembly speaker Asad Qaiser about promotion of an officer junior to him, Nasrullah Khan, as the secretary.

He also referred to two judgments of Peshawar High Court through which it had on November 13, 2018, declared as illegal appointment of a special secretary and up-gradation of the post of director (automation and IT) provincial assembly.

He said while an appeal was pending before the tribunal in September 2018, the departmental promotion committee, which also included the two MPAs, again recommended promotion of Mr Nasrullah following which a notification was issued by Mr Mushtaq Ghani on September 25, 2018 regarding his appointment as secretary of the assembly.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2019