LHC reinstates Lt Gen Munir Afsar as Nadra chairman

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has reinstated Lieutenant General Munir Afsar as the Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

Hearing the intra-court appeal filed by the federal government, LHC’s two-member bench comprising Justices Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Ahmad Nadeem Arshad suspended the high court’s September 6 verdict wherein it had declared Lt Gen Afsar’s appointment null and void.

The decision, announced by Justice Asim Hafeez, came after a citizen named Ashba Kamran challenged the appointment of Afsar as the chairman in a petition, which was approved by the LHC.

During the hearing Tuesday, the government’s lawyer apprised the court that Nadra chairman’s appointment notification was challenged in the plea. However, he added, the petitioner’s request was limited only to the extent of the notification issued by the caretaker government.

The applicant never challenged the new rule, he said, while requesting the court to annul the single-member bench’s last week’s verdict. At this, the LHC suspended Justice Hafeez’s ruling and restored Lt Gen Afsar’s appointment as Nadra head.