PEMRA chief Absar Alam relinquishes charge after LHC order

Court directs authorities to appoint new chairman within 30 days

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday set aside the appointment of senior Journalist Absar Alam as Chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), declaring it illegal.

Justice Shahid Karim of LHC, who had reserved the verdict on Nov 29 on a petition challenging the appointment, also instructed the federal government to fill the post within 30 days.

Alam, who had assumed office on Dec 1, 2015 relinquished his charge, but will contest the court ruling.  “Chairman Absar Alam has immediately abandoned his charge after the decision of the Lahore High Court,” a statement issued by Pemra said.



لاہور ہائی کورٹ کے فیصلے کے بعد چئیرمین پیمرا نے عہدہ چھوڑ دیا pic.twitter.com/vMlrycHqgs

— Report PEMRA (@reportpemra) December 18, 2017

A citizen, Munir Ahmad, had filed the petition through Advocate Azhar Siddique, alleging that the appointment had been made in violation of laws. The petitioner said Alam had been drawing Rs1.5 million per month, whereas the post of Pemra chairman was equal to MP-I (Management Position) scale whose maximum salary was Rs450,000.

He contended that the appointment was a case of nepotism and violation of merit. The post was temporarily filled by the government, the counsel said. He said that the government had relaxed the educational criteria for the post to accommodate Alam.

Advocate Syed Ali Gillani represented Pemra and defended the appointment as prerogative of the prime minster. He argued that the prime minister had chosen the respondent from a panel of three candidates recommended by a duly formed selection committee.

During the proceedings, the judge had expressed dismay over the appointment record of Alam not having been submitted despite orders. Rejecting a request for more time for the task, the court observed that the case had been pending for two and a half years and could not be delayed anymore.



Advocate Siddique argued that the government had issued advertisements twice to fill the post. Alam could not meet the requirements of the post and the authorities issued another ad to accommodate him, he alleged.

The counsel representing Pemra told the court that the appointment had been made on merit and the minimum qualification for the post was graduation. The PM, he said, had also discretionary power to appoint any person who fulfilled the requirements. There were terms and conditions about salary for the post, the counsel said.

The judge had earlier observed that the world had gone much ahead but the qualification of Pemra chairman was still BA.