MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Wednesday asked the government and others concerned to file their comments by March 18 on a petition whereby the appointment of a non-Kashmiri as senior adviser to the AJK prime minister has been challenged.  

The petition filed by Masood Mumtaz Rathore, a former AJK Legislative Assembly member and a PML-N leader, through senior lawyer Raza Ali Khan, also prayed for revocation of the AJK Advisers (Appointment, Salaries, Allowance and Privileges) Act, 2014 for being ‘ultra-vires’ of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974.

“The Interim Constitution Act has no mention of the advisers to the president or prime minister and without amending the Constitution such offices cannot be created hence the impugned Act is liable to be quashed,” stated the petitioner who has arrayed the AJK government, AJK prime minister, secretary to the AJK president, secretary Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) and senior adviser Chaudhry Mohammad Riaz as respondents.

Mr Riaz, a resident of Faisalabad (Punjab), was appointed as adviser to the AJK prime minister with the status of minister on December 11, 2013 under Rule 6-A of the Rules of Business, 1985, with a condition that he would draw salary.

However, another notification issued on January 1, 2014, declared him eligible to payment of salary and privileges, equivalent to that of a minister.

In order to avoid a defeat on the appointments of advisers under Rule 6-A of the Rules of Business, the AJK government enacted AJK Advisers (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 2014 in June last year, whereby two positions of advisers to the president and four positions of advisers to the prime minister, including a senior adviser, were created.

The petitioner pointed out that the scheme of the AJK’s Interim Constitution Act, 1974, was that any office equivalent to the minister shall be held by a person who is elected member of the AJK Legislative Assembly or the AJK Council.

He argued that though section 58 of the Interim Constitution empowered the President to make Rules for carrying out the purposes of the Constitution, it however did not empower him to incorporate provisions in the Rules of Business to create any office equivalent to that of the ministers.

 The Rule 6-A of the Rules of Business was beyond the scope of the Interim Constitution Act and since Mr Riaz had been appointed under Rule 6-A, he was holding the office of adviser without lawful authority.

Continuing, he maintained that being a non–State Subject Mr Riaz was not entitled to be appointed or to hold any office in the AJK government under the Interim Constitution and the laws made hereunder.

The petitioner also prayed that the government should be directed to recover all the monetary benefits drawn by Mr Riaz from the state exchequer.

It may be mentioned here that a similar petition titled ‘Shah Ghulam Qadir and another versus AJK Government and Others’ is sub judice before the high court.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2015

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