Govt to defend induction of Shujaat Azeem as PM’s aide on aviation

Official says no legal hitch in Shujaat Azeem’s appointment

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to defend before the apex court the appointment of Captain (retd) Shujaat Azeem as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Aviation. Azeem’s current position is equivalent in status to that of a state minister.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim on November 12 took strong exception to the appointment of Azeem, a convicted person, as the PM’s special assistant and asked the federal government either to de-notify Azeem or defend his appointment.



The three-judge bench, now headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, will resume the hearing of case on December 10. The petitioners – a Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi and Pakistan Airline Pilot Association – have contended that contempt proceedings be initiated against the prime minister for the appointment.



In 2013, the top court had expressed concern over Azeem’s appointment as adviser to the PM as he was court-martialed by the Pakistan Air Force and possessed dual nationality.  In view of the court’s concerns, Azeem had tendered his resignation. However, he was reappointed as special assistant to the PM after retirement of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.



Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior law officer told The Express Tribune that the federal government will strongly defend Azeem’s appointment before the bench as there is no legal hitch in his appointment.  He said Azeem is a citizen of Pakistan and his conviction had not been for lifetime.

“The government’s case regarding his appointment is strong; therefore we are ready to defend it before the bench,” he said, adding that a person can even be elected as a member of parliament after five years of his conviction.

Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt is expected to appear before the bench and to present the government’s stance on his appointment.  Another official said it was very difficult for the PM to de-notify him at the present stage because the government had already initiated the process of privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).



In a statement, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwalla alleged that the government, through Shujaat Azeem, had already made a secret deal to sell off PIA to Abu Dhabi rulers.

An aviation expert, however, said Azeem has a good vision for the aviation sector and has done a great job by increasing standards of different airports in the country. “Privatisation of the PIA and outsourcing of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the need of the hour,” he said.

However, an official in the CAA said the aviation authority’s  employees were unhappy over his appointment because he did not redress their grievances. “There are three arguments against Azeem’s appointment – moral turpitude, dual nationality and clash of interest,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th,  2015.