Illegal appointment: Govt served contempt of court notice

MIRPUR: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has served a contempt of court notice to the state government and summoned a response on January 30 on the replacement of the AJK Accountability Bureau deputy chairman despite a stay order from the court. Haji Muhammad Ashraf, the current deputy chairman, moved a writ petition in the high court on January 3, challenging his replacement with Advocate Chaudhry Aurangzeb. He contended that he was appointed as the deputy chairman on December 22, 2010 for a period of three years, alleging that the move was illegal and based on nepotism. However, the government reportedly issued orders for Aurangzeb’s appointment by suspending the contract, upon which the High Court started contempt proceedings against the government while ordering maintenance of the status quo. Meanwhile, the government suspended the official notification of Aurangzeb’s appointment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2012.