Court stays hiring of OGRA’s member oil

Petitioner says a short-listed candidate is facing investigation

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has stayed the process of hiring member oil of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) after a candidate challenged re-advertisement for the post.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued the stay order after Ogra Senior Executive Director Mohammad Yasin challenged the re-advertisement for appointment of the member oil before the court.

Justice Siddiqui directed the federal government and Ogra to file a detailed reply before the next date of hearing as the petitioner informed the court that one of the three short-listed candidates was facing an investigation in connection with his alleged role in the “irregular” induction and promotion of the staff.

On July 7, 2015, Ogra had issued the advertisement for the vacant position of member oil, inviting applications from the aspiring candidates.

While evaluating the applications, the selection board short-listed three candidates - Zainul Abdin, Mohammad Yasin and Abdullah Malik.

Abdin is working as executive director with Ogra and facing the investigation while Malik is working in the private sector. The details emerged after the names of candidates were sent to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau for clearance.

The deputy attorney general, representing the federal government, informed the court that Ogra had decided to re-advertise the vacant post after NAB did not clear one of the names.  To this, while issuing the stay order, the court directed the federal government and Ogra to file a detailed reply before the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2016.

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