QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Monday declared the Appointments of Special Assistants to the Chief Minister Balochistan Act, 2018, null and void.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Jamal Mandokhel and Justice Abdullah Baloch also declared appointments of six special assistants to the Balochistan chief minister unconstitutional.

Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani appointed Agha Shakeel Durrani, Nawabzada Arbab Omar Farooq, Ijaz Sanjrani, retired Captain Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Ramen Mohammad Hassani and Hassnain Hashmi as his special assistants.

The BHC announced the judgement on a petition filed by Advocate Ali Ahmed Kakar on behalf of Babar Mushtaq.

The court also ordered the special assistants to the chief minister to return all incentives they received from the government except their salaries. In the petition, Advocate Kakar argued in the court that the act was contradictory to the law of the land and, therefore, it should be set aside.

According to the court order, the Appointments of Special Assistants to CM Act, 2018, was unconstitutional under Sub-section 11 of Article 130 of the Constitution as the chief ministers had power to appoint only five advisers. The BHC had reserved its verdict two days ago after hearing arguments of the both sides’ lawyers.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2020