Islamabad:
Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected the chairman of the country’s Internet and Telekarelegulator – Pakistan Telecommunication Authority – considering his illegal employment.
The court has also ordered one of the senior members in PTA to take responsibility for the organization as a temporary chairman and instructed the federal government to appoint a new chairman through a transparent process in accordance with the PTA appointment rules and the Telecoming Council.
The bench has also instructed its office to send a copy of the verdict to the Cabinet Secretary and the PTA members for implementation. Meanwhile, the fired official, Major General (Retd) Hafeezur Rehman has filed an intra-court appeal against the verdict.
A single-member bench of IHC, which consisted of Justice Babar Sattar on Tuesday, revealed his order for the end of the procedure initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by Usama Khilji.
Khilji in 2023 challenged an advertisement that announced a vacancy to the Office of PTA member (administration) and invited applications from candidates.
The petitioner claimed that the position of member (administration) was in violation of the provisions of Pakistan Telecommunication Reorganization ACT, 1996 – Telecom ACT and PTA chairman and member (appointment and qualifications) Rules, 2013 – PTA Department of Appeal.
He had requested the court to limit the federal government from filling the position of member (administration) on the basis of advertising.
While admitting the petition for consultation, IHC allowed IHC on May 24, 2023, the government continued to continue with the process of requesting and processing applications according to advertising.
However, it made it clear that any appointment made under such a process would be subject to the result of the petition “and the decision of whether there is a rational basis for the federal government to prescribe different criteria for positions for members PTA”.
Later, the Authority appointed Major General (RETD) Hafeezur Rehman first as PTA member (administration) and later as the President of the Authority.
The 99-page order stated that the advertisement was Ultra Vires Section 3 of the Telecom Act and PTA appointment rules at the time the advertisement was published and Recruitment Pro’s lacked integrity and suffered from Malafide in Law.
It stated that steps taken by the government to fill the position of member (administration) under advertising were not sustainable in the eyes of the law and have no legal effect.
“The entire building of processes and decisions built on an illegal foundation must crumble over such an illegal foundation. As the forced advertising and the process of recruitment made there, under Malice in the law, all subsequent decisions are in the pursuit of such a process, including the appointment of the respondent’s No. 4 as a member (administration) and chairman PTA, Illegal, Ultra Vir-Lov Law effect “,” the legal effect “.
It said that the establishment of the position of member (administration) was Ultra Vires ยง 3 of the Telecom law and had been created for foreign reasons as opposed to realizing the objects of the Telecoms Act.
“Although such a post can be created by the federal government after taking into account considerations relevant to realizing the objects of the Telecom Act, such action can only be implemented while introducing appropriate changes in section 3 (8) and (9) of the Telecommunications Committee, as also stated in the summary of the creation of such a post that was set up for the Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet.
“Since the establishment of the position and prescriptions of qualifications in such a post to meet Response Responsive No. 4 (PTA chairman) has been declared to suffer from Malafid in the law, such a post is considered not to exist, and the changes introduced in the PTA appointment rules for such a purpose are de-clared to be Ultra 10-A, 18 and 25 in the Constitution and sections 3 and 57 of the Tele-Com deal.
“As the whole process of appointment of respondent # 4 as a member (administration) and as President PTA has been shown to suffer from the legislation, which is a product of a constitutional and Ille-gal recruitment process, he must cease to hold such appointments and must immediately abandon the charge of such offices,” the order said.
