Naeem Bukhari stopped from working as state-run TV chairman

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday stopped state-run TV Chairman Naeem Bukhari from performing his duties and directed the information ministry to send a summary again to the cabinet for the appointment in the light of the Supreme Court judgment.

Chief Justice Athar Minullah conducted hearing of the case against the appointment of state-run TV chairman. Deputy Attorney General Syed Tayyab Shah informed the court that Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan would reach the court and give arguments in the case.

The lawyer for the state-run TV chairman said that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was hearing a case already regarding formation of the state-run TV board. He stated that the matter of Naeem Bukhari was different from Ataul Haq Qasmi, who had been receiving heavy incentives, while his client was not getting even salary.

The chief justice said that the case had no connection with the case being heard by the court of Justice Kiyani. It was a very simple question. There was a decision of the Supreme Court in that regard, the court said. The court said that it was necessary to give a reason for relaxation in the appointment on top slot of the state-run TV.

The counsel for the information ministry said that the post was advertised under the second portion of the decision. He said that the top court's decision was related to the formation of board.

The court asked whether the ministry had given any relaxation in appointment pertaining to the age limit. In this regard, a summary dated November 13, of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was presented before the court, on which the court said that the decision of the top court was not read while preparing the summary.

The court noted that the same mistakes had been repeated which were committed in Ataul Haq Qasmi case. The lawyer stated that the federal cabinet had approved the summary. The CJ remarked that the cabinet should have been informed about the SC decision.

The court directed the ministry to send a new summary to the cabinet regarding appointment of the state-run TV chairman in the light of the SC judgment besides stopping Naeem Bukhari from performing his duties. The court also ordered for sending details of the steps, taken by Bukhari as chairman state-run TV to the cabinet and adjourned the hearing of the case.