Supreme Court upholds IHC verdict on SAPMs, advisers’ appointment

ISLAMABAD: A two-member bench of the Supreme Court Friday rejected an appeal filed by Malik Munsif Awan of Justice Party against the verdict of Islamabad High Court dismissing his petition challenging the appointment of advisers and special assistants to the prime minister.

The bench comprised Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ijazul Ahsen. Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that Article 99 of the Constitution empowered the federal government to frame rules of business, farmed in the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan

The counsel argued that in the rules of business framed in 1973 Constitution, appointment of special assistants was provided in rule 4 sub rule 6 and in the appendix 1V-A

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, however, observed that the Supreme Court had laid down rules related to appointment of special assistants and advisers in a casepertaining to the appointment of Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari.

“There is no bar on appointments of SAPMs and advisers”, Justice Ahsen added. Last year in January a three-member bench of the apex court – headed by the then Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had dismissed a plea seeking to declare as void the notification issued on September 14, 2018 regarding the appointment of Zulfi Bukhari as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the status of Minister of State.

The IHC had held that the prime minister’s special assistant could not be disqualified over dual nationality. “A person with dual citizenship is also a Pakistani and his patriotism cannot be doubted. The prime minister is answerable to the people and he cannot run the state system alone,” the verdict ruled.

He had also prayed the court to issue directions for removal of the four SAPMs from their posts for the sake of national interest, as they had access to sensitive information about the country, including its nuclear assets.