PM may appoint anyone as adviser: IHC

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday reserved judgment on the maintainability of a case challenging the appointment of Mirza Shahzad Akbar as Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, saying the Premier has authority to appoint anyone as his adviser.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah reserved the decision after listening to the lawyer’s arguments. The petition was moved by a citizen named Pervaiz Zahoor. The IHC chief justice said the Prime Minister was authorised to appoint anyone as his adviser in accordance with the Constitution.

During the course of the proceedings, Justice Minallah said if there was a matter of rule of law, then it would be appropriate for the petitioner to take it up with the bar council. He said: “We should use time to address complaints of the public instead of wasting it on unnecessary things.”

The court asked the petitioner whether Akbar had interfered with the powers of the chairman of National Accountability Bureau or Federal Investigation Agency. The petitioner had not placed such things before the court, the bench observed. The chief justice said the NAB was an independent institution and no one could interfere into its affairs. After this, the bench reserved the decision on maintainability of the case.