Islamabad:
Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended Justice Babar Sattar’s order that removes Major General (RETD) HAFEEZUR REHMAN as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) President, temporary recovery of him to the position.
A division bench consisting of Justice Muhammad Asif and Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas issued the order on Thursday after an initial consultation on three legal appeals filed by PTA, the federal government and the issued PTA chairman.
PTA’s lawyer Salman Mansoor claimed that neither the rules were challenged or sent to AGP, which was mandatory before removing the chairman.
He claimed that the petition was not even sought, whereas the court under Article 199 of the Constitution cannot decide cases that were not specifically invoked.
He said the court himself noticed that no arguments had yet been completed, and two applications that raised objections were also pending, but the decision was reserved without tackling them.
The lawyer also stated that when lawyers were on leave, the court reserved judgment and then practiced Suo Motu powers to remove the PTA chairman.
Rehman’s lawyer Qasim Wadood claimed that the petition had questioned his appointment as PTA member and claimed that the post was incorrectly announced while rules had been changed with the federal cabinet approval before his appointment.
In support of the Federal Government’s appeal in court, additional legal lawyer Rashid Hafeez bench told the position that the position had attracted 64 applicants nationwide, 24 of whom qualified.
He said that the criteria for eligibility were strictly followed and no candidate had challenged the process. The rules, he said, were changed with federal cabinet approval before the position was announced.
After hearing the arguments, the bench accepted the various use that sought suspension of the individual bench judgment. It also issued notice to the petitioner Usama Khilji and postponed additional procedures.
