KARACHI: The Cabinet Division has informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) that designation of the deputy prime minister was an honorific title and did not bestow any executive powers or special privileges.

It submitted that the prime minister had only conferred an honorific designation upon Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and no power had been delegated to the minister.

The Cabinet Division has filed its comments in response to a petition impugning the appointment of Mr Dar as the deputy prime minister.

The reply also asserted that the appointment in question had neither changed the status of Mr Dar as a federal minister nor it bestowed any office, and the impugned notification did not impinge upon any fundamental right of the petitioner or public at large.

It also maintained that previously two members of the Federal Cabinet had been designated as senior federal minister and deputy prime minister while the impugned notification did not mention any change in the functions or role of the prime minister and federal minister for foreign affairs as a member of cabinet and as such there was no violation of the constitution or rules of business, 1975.

The Cabinet Division also argued that the petition was devoid of merits and asked the SHC to dismiss the same.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024