GUJRAT, Nov 22: Federal Secretary Commerce Syed Asif Shah on Saturday dissolved the body of Gujrat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GTCCI), including its president’s office and executive committee for committing serious violations of the rules and regulations of the new Trade Ordinance, 2007.

Elections of the new executive committee and other office-bearers of the chamber, that were scheduled to be held on November 24, have also been postponed and Irshad Ahmed, the assistant director Trade Development Authority in Gujranwala, has been appointed administrator with immediate effect.

Nadeem Sandhu, a member of GTCCI, had filed a petition in the office of Director Trade Organisation, Islamabad, a few months ago against the gross irregularities in the affairs of the chamber by the ruling group and some previous office-bearers as well.

The DTO probed the matter and confirmed the violations of the rules in his report to the director general Trade Organisation. Acting on the report the DGTO dissolved the executive committee and office bearers of the chamber on Sept 29.

The dissolved president Sheikh Khawar Rafique filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court against the orders of the DGTO, upon which Justice Syed Asghar Haider of the LHC on Oct 17 suspended the orders of DGTO and reinstated the office-bearers as well as the executive committee of Gujrat chamber by setting aside the earlier orders.

The LHC had directed the DTO Islamabad to again hold an inquiry into the affairs by hearing the aggrieved party, the president of GTCCI and his colleagues and then reach a conclusion.

Following the directives of the LHC, the matter was put up before the federal secretary commerce, who decided to listen to the view point of the representatives of the incumbent body of the GTCCI. The hearing was completed on Nov 19 and the decision to dissolve the entire body of the chamber was announced on Saturday.

The administrator has been assigned to scrutinise the membership list and remove all those members, who were inducted in violation of memorandum and articles of the association of the chamber. He would prepare a new voters list comprising of genuine members and will hold fresh elections in 30 days and handover the charge to the newly elected body.

According to the notification, the administrator has also been authorised to appoint a five-member advisory committee that would be consisted of those members of the chamber, who would not be in run for any slot in the coming elections.

Irshad Ahmed, the administrator of GTCCI, told Dawn that a new election schedule would be issued, besides the appointment of a new election commission for holding elections as the previous election commission has also been disbanded.