LAHORE, April 21: Justice Mian Hamid Farooq of the Lahore High Court on Friday restrained Chaudhry Akhtar Rasool from working as an adviser to the Punjab government.

The court directed the provincial chief secretary to withdraw all perks and other fringe benefits attached to his office and submit a report. The court adjourned till May 4 further hearing of the constitutional writ petition, filed by local prayer leader Maulana Malik Shah Muhammad, who had primarily challenged Mian Muhammad Munir’s appointment as an adviser.

The judge also asked jurists S.M. Zafar, Abid Hassan Minto, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan and Dr Khalid Ranjha to assist court as amicus curie on the next date of the hearing in determining the constitutional position of the appointment of advisers in the province.

The court issued fresh notices to the 23 other advisers, who have so far failed to appear in person or even through counsel with a reply to its earlier show-cause notice seeking their explanations as to under which legal authority they were occupying their office.

The court had issued notices to all 19 advisers to the provincial government and six to the chief minister about 10 days ago.

The petitioner brought their appointment into question with the contention that article 93 of the 1973 Constitution provided that only the president was competent to appoint five advisers in consultation with the prime minister to help him discharge his official duties. The constitution did not envisage the appointment of advisers to a provincial government or the chief minister.

The court, subsequently, restrained Mian Munir from working as an adviser and directed the chief secretary about 10 days ago that financial and administrative benefits attached to his office should be withdrawn.

As such, Akhtar Rasool is the second adviser who has been stopped from working. Both the advisers are among the six, who were convicted of contempt of court by the Supreme Court along with former MNA Tariq Aziz. They were charged with bringing the apex court into disrepute by storming into the courtroom at a time when it was in session.

The petitioner had raised the question of the conviction of Mian Munir and Akhtar Rasool by the apex court and contended that a convict could not be appointed to a public office as enshrined in article 63 of the constitution.

Only Mian Munir and Akhtar Rasool have so far been represented in court through their counsel Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Rashideen Kasuri, respectively, and no other adviser responded to the court notice issued about two weeks ago.