LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Friday restored 10 assistant advocate generals after suspending a notification of Punjab caretaker government about their termination.Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi issued the order on a petition moved by the assistant advocate generals appointed by the former government of Shahbaz Sharif, however, terminated by the caretaker government.
Representing the removed law officers, Advocates Shahzad Shaukat had argued the caretaker government had no mandate to make terminations. He said the caretaker government, under Election Rules 2017, could only transfer or shuffle public officials after the approval of the ECP.
He said the process for the appointment of the petitioners was initiated in 2016 and they underwent a series of interviews and scrutiny before being shortlisted for the posts. He said the petitioners had been appointed for a probation period of six months and their services were to be regularised in light of their performance.
The counsel argued that the caretaker government acted beyond its jurisdiction as its job was to ensure fair and free election only. He said the ban on the fresh appointments by the ECP did not apply on such posts. Earlier, Additional Advocate General Shan Gul appeared before the court and defended the impugned decision of the caretaker government. However, he pointed out that the process for the appointment of the petitioners/law officers was initiated and completed much before the ban on fresh appointments imposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in April, 2018.
The notification of the petitioners’ appointment was issued after the ECP’s ban only, he added. He argued that the impugned decision had been taken on the reservation shown by the ECP. Being dissatisfied with the government’s view, Justice Qureshi suspended the operation of the impugned notification and restored the petitioners to their posts. The judge also directed secretary law to submit a detailed reply on the matter within two weeks.
The 10 assistant advocate generals removed by the interim government include Barrister Asjad Saeed, Amar Sanaullah, Tariq Mahmood Butt, Ahmad Hassan Rana, Muhammad Tariq Nadeem, Barrister Bushra Saqib, Asif Afzal Bhatti, Chaudhry Jawad Yaqub, Khalid Masood Ghani and Barrister Ameer Abbas Ali Khan. They were appointed by the former government on May 26 and May 30 last. The impugned notification said the assistant advocate generals were appointed in derogation of ECP ban.
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