PESHAWAR, May 25: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s brother as a project director of the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees (CAR) was illegal.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Raza Khan and Justice Raj Muhammad Khan allowed a writ petition filed by Maj (retd) Fayyaz Durrani, who was replaced as project director of repatriation by Ziaur Rehman.

The bench set aside a notification issued by the NWFP chief secretary on March 28, 2005, through which Mr Rehman was appointed project director (repatriation).

The petitioner said that Mr Zia’s appointment was politically motivated and his only qualification was that he was brother of the opposition leader in the National Assembly.

The counsel for the petitioner Waqar Ahmad Seth said that the ministry of states and frontier region (Safron), which was also respondent in the petition, had also conceded that Mr Rehman’s appointment was against the prescribed rules and regulations. According to him, the ministry had not given approval for the petitioner’s replacement.

He argued that the petitioner was serving on a post funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and he could not be replaced with the order of the chief secretary.

He stated that the respondent (Mr Zia) had been serving as assistant engineer in the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) as supervisor and was attached with the NWFP government on deputation.

Mr Seth argued that “a depotationist could not be appointed against the post of project director (repatriation)”. He contended that no order had been issued regarding the petitioner (Mr Durrani) whether he was removed or transferred or adjusted on any other seat. He questioned how Mr Zia could be appointed to a post which had not fallen vacant.

Deputy Attorney-General Salahuddin Khan appeared for the federal government, additional advocate general Arbab Usman represented the provincial government and advocate Khusdil Khan appeared for Mr Rehman.