LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the Punjab government on a petition challenging the appointment of director general of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA).

Earlier, on behalf of the petitioner, Advocate Khalid Jamil argued before the court that respondent Kamran Lashari, a retired bureaucrat, was appointed as WCLA DG in 2012 for a period of three years.

He said the government kept on extending the contract appointment of Mr Lashari without any gap till the last such notification issued by the local government secretary on Nov 23, 2021, for his appointment till Dec 12, 2024.

The counsel argued that the impugned notification was illegal and the respondent, Mr Lashari, was not competent to be appointed against the post under the criteria given in the WCLA Act-2012.

He explains that the law says the DG shall be a member/secretary of the authority and one of the qualifications for the members was to be a prominent and well-reputed resident of the walled city. He says the respondent was not a resident of the walled city and also faced inquiries on corruption charges.

He asked the court to declare the impugned notification of the respondent’s fourth consecutive appointment illegal and also order the DG to return perks and privileges received by him.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh issued notice to the government and sought a reply within a fortnight.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2022