SHC moved against PM’s advisers, special assistants

Petitioner says advisers and special assistants are
exercising powers without any constitutional cover  

A citizen approached the Sindh High Court on Wednesday, seeking an injunction against the delegation of powers to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s advisers and special assistants with portfolios equivalent to the status of federal and state ministers.

Moulvi Iqbal Haider submitted in a petition that the cabinet division had appointed four advisers and nine special assistants to the prime minister, delegating to them the executive powers and authority of federal ministers and state ministers without support of any provision of the constitution.

According to the petitioner, Engineer Amir Muqam, Irfan Siddiqui, Jam Mashooq Ali and Sartaj Aziz have been appointed advisers on national history and literary heritage, political affairs and foreign affairs. He said Tariq Fatemi, Dr Musadik Malik, Miftah Ismail, Captain (retd) Shujaat Azim, Dr Syed Asif Saeed Kirmani, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Haroon Khan and Sharjeel Adnan Sheikh had been appointed special assistants on foreign affairs, as a spokesperson, board of investment, aviation, political affairs, human rights, revenue and constitutional affairs respectively.     

He further said that after the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment, the power and authority of the president and the prime minister were curtailed. Under the amendment, the “the president shall appoint federal and state ministers from amongst the members of Majlis-e-Shoora on advice of the parliament”, but the number must not exceed 11 percent of the total membership of the parliament, he said.

According to the petitioner, the scheme of the constitution is very clear that the president is competent to appoint federal ministers or state ministers from amongst the parliamentarians and the strength “shall not exceed 11 percent of the total membership of the parliament; therefore, the appointments of advisers and special assistants with delegation of powers of federal ministers and state ministers” was a gross violation of the basic principle of the constitution. The court was requested to declare that appointments of advisers and special assistants to the PM as illegal and unconstitutional and to restrain them from exercising executive authority on behalf of the federal government.