IHC Disposes Of Petition Against Appointment Of Shahzad Akbar

(@fidahassanain)

IHC disposes of petition against appointment of Shahzad Akbar

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah says that the PM has constitutional powers to appoint anyone he deemed fit as his advisor, and therefore, the petition against his appointment is inadmissible.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-August 26th, 2020) The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday court disposed of a petition appointment of Shehzad Akbar as advisor to Prime Minister on accountability, declaring it “non-maintainable”.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced the verdict reserved earlier on the petition moved by Advocate Syed Pervaiz Zahoor.

The court in its nine-page judgment held that the petitioner failed to provide any record regarding Shehzad Akbar’s interference in National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Advocate Amanullah Kanrani appeared before the court on behalf of petitioner Pervez Zahood and argued on the ground of a judgment of Sindh High Court that accountability under the rules of business was an independent procedure and was not subordinate to anyone.

“The Prime Minister has constitutional power to appoint anyone as his advisor,” the CJ held, observing that there was no merit for the appointment of the advisor to Prime Minister.

“The Advisor to PM can participate in the parliamentary proceedings but cannot vote,” the CJ further said. The Chief Justice also expressed hope that Shahzad Akbar as being Advisor to PM would perform his duties under the law and the Constitution would fulfill his all responsibilities.

The verdict, however, said that the top court’s decision over Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) against Shahzad Akbar was yet to come.

The court disposed of the petition holding that it was not maintainable as the PM had constitutional powers to appoint anyone he deemed fit as his advisor.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.