ISLAMABAD: A serious administrative issue has hit the Capital Development Authority (CDA) as questions are arising over the legitimacy of the appointment of civil servants as the chairman and board members of the civic agency.

When approached, CDA officials seemed confused over the legitimacy of the sitting Chairman Afzal Latif and board members as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had last year ruled that only non-civil servants could be appointed on these seats.

But the previous government took cover of a presidential ordinance which was later given one-time extension by parliament.

However, last month the legal cover in the shape of the extension to the ordinance expired.

In December last year, Justice Athar Minallah of the IHC had ruled that civil servants cannot be appointed as members and chairman of the CDA. The court had directed the then government to appoint new chairman within 45 days in a transparent manner.

The IHC announced the judgment in a case related to the appointment of Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz, who was first made an acting member and then the chairman of the CDA.

IHC ruling that civil servants cannot be appointed as members and chairman attains finality as one-time extension to presidential ordinance expires

The court removed Mr Aziz from the post of the chairman and directed the civic agency to appoint a new incumbent with 45 days. The court also ruled that after completion of the tenure of the then members, if they were hired in violation of article 6 of the CDA ordinance new appointments should be made.

However, the previous government instead of filing an appeal against the decision of the IHC single bench verdict decided to make an amendment to the CDA ordinance 1960 to appoint civil servants only on the posts of the chairman and member finance.

The then cabinet led by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approved the amendment and a presidential ordinance was promulgated. When the ordinance was to expire, the then federal minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry in May this year got a resolution passed from parliament, providing a new life of 120 days to the presidential ordinance.

Sources in the CDA said the extension period in the ordinance lapsed last month - meaning the IHC judgment attained finality.

“Technically speaking, the IHC judgment has attained finality,” said a CDA board member who requested not to be named.

Another officer said after the lapse of the presidential ordinance, serious legal questions had arisen over the status of the incumbent chairman and board members.

If the PTI-led government wants to continue the old practice of hiring civil servants in the board, it will have to make an amendment to the CDA ordinance through a new legislation.

Justice Athar Minallah on Dec 9 ruled: “The appointment of a civil servant as member was definitely in violation of clause (f) of section 8 [of the ordinance] and an illegality committed for a long time in the past... Moreover, the appointment of a member cannot be made in violation of the principles and law enunciated in the case of statutory regulatory entities, intended by the legislature to be independent and autonomous.”

The court added: “It was an obvious legislative intent and implicit in the scheme of the ordinance of 1960 that qualified and competent persons of integrity having expertise in the relevant fields were to be appointed as members of the [CDA] board.”

Renowned legal expert Salman Akram Raja said: “If an appeal was not filed within 60 days against the judgment of the IHC and the CDA ordinance was not amended, the judgment would attain finality.”

An official of the CDA law wing also confirmed that after the expiry of the extension to the presidential ordinance the court judgment had attained finality.

“It was the job of the federal government, not the CDA, to resolve the issue well before time,” said the official.

He, however, said the incumbent chairman was appointed before the expiry of the one-time extension to the ordinance.

When contacted, CDA spokesman Syed Safdar Ali said they were aware that the extension to the presidential ordinance granted by parliament had expired. He, however, said it was the federal government’s prerogative to make a new legislation to deal with the matter.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018