IHC orders removal of PNMC president

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the removal of the president of the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC), Farzana Zulfiqar, from her post and the reinstatement of Jawad Amin Khan as president of the council.

The court also termed the caretaker government’s move to de-notify Khan without seeking approval from the cabinet, without any inquiry or a show-cause notice as a violation of the orders of the Supreme Court.

Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri of the Islamabad High Court issued the judgment in the case pertaining to the removal of President Jawad Amin Khan and Vice President Shahid Hussain of the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council and the appointment of Farzana Zulfiqar as the new president.

The court declared the three notifications issued by the caretaker government on November 3, November 8 and December 13, 2023, null and void. Jawad Amin Khan and Shahid Hussain had challenged the move to de-notify them as president and vice president. The court issued a detailed 30-page decision allowing both petitions, which also included references to Supreme Court decisions.

The IHC observed that there was a Supreme Court decision regarding the powers of the caretaker government. The Election Act 2017 also explains the work of the caretaker government.

The petitioners were appointed with the approval of the prime minister and the federal cabinet.

De-notifying the petitioners without the approval of the federal cabinet is a violation of the Supreme Court decision. No show-cause notice was given to the petitioners nor was any inquiry conducted against them before de-notification.

The high court wrote in the decision that no such document was brought on record on the basis of which the petitioners were removed from their posts. It ordered that both the petitioners be reinstated as president and vice president of the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council within a week.

The parties should implement the decision and re-notify them and submit the implementation report to the additional registrar judicial.