PHC declares appointment of Speaker’s special secretary illegal

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday declared the appointment of a special secretary to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker, who is supposed to assist the provincial assembly speaker, as illegal.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan declared the special secretary appointment as illegal.

The bench announced the decision in a petition filed by lawyer Ali Azim Afridi, in which he contended that the post of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) special secretary had been created for only six months to assist the speaker.

However, it was then permanently absorbed in the assembly secretariat in violation of orders of the apex court.

“The gravamen originates from notification(s) dated December 27, 2013, and December 15, 2014, issued by the then KP assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, now speaker National Assembly, absorbing its service in the assembly secretariat disregard the judgment(s) of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the lawyer contended.

The lawyer added the post of the special secretary to the speaker had been approved by the finance committee and Syed Waqar Shah had been brought to the assembly on a deputation basis.

Before being transferred to the KP Assembly, Waqar Shah had been working as a senior flight services officer in the Pakistan International Airlines.

“The act of absorbing the post into the KP Assembly secretariat shows purported omission on the part former speaker and now by the present speaker,” he argued.