ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Wednesday, defended his decision to remove the Establishment Secretary by saying that Sohail Ahmed had undermined his authority.
Gilani made these remarks during the Federal Cabinet meeting in Islamabad.
Sohail Ahmed had restored a former FIA official Hussain Asghar on his post on Supreme Court orders.
Asghar, who was leading the Hajj scam investigation had been removed by the government but the court, ordered the Establishment Secretary to restore him, which he did.
However, the PM made him Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for violating the government rules, as the Establishment Secretary cannot transfer a Grade 21 employee.
Earlier The Chief Justice had asked the Attorney General (AGP) to meet with PM Gilani and submit a reply as to why the secretary establishment was made an OSD.
The hearing was adjourned till tomorrow.
The CJ had criticised Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Tehseen Shah for his non-serious attitude and directed him to follow court orders.
The director general informed the court that reinstatement orders of former investigator, Hussain Asghar, had been issued but he had not reported for duty as yet. He was then asked by the chief justice to submit a report regarding Asghar’s resumption of duty.
(Read: Hajj scam: SC seeks reply on OSD status of Secretary Establishment)
COMMENTS (16)
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Can anyone explain what is the law of the land with respect to transferring officers of grade 20 and above?
This is an issue of profound interest for each Pakistanis as demoralized or rough senior officers can be the cause of further ruining the country.
Please stop playing with and corrupting the law of our motherland as without rule of law we will have no future.
I am in respectful agreement with Mr Shahid Malik and Mr Pashtune . The Supreme court had ordered the interior secretary to issue the notification without sending the summary to the Prime Minister for his approval ; the order amounts to encourage an officer to by pass the Prime Minister . This is glaring example of undermining the authority of the Prime Minister .
Establishment scrtry removed because he undermined PM's authority and Hussain Asghar removed because he undermined PM's son's authority.
Moo mominaa'n, kertoot kaafiraa'n
CJP is clearly overstepping his authority. He has no right to issue posting orders of government officers. Judiciary's power to interpret law is not unbridled. Nobody should obey unconstitutional & illegal orders. He pressurised Sohail Ahmed (known for being a weak person) to issue notification without any lawful authority. The present hype created by SC is in tandem with new strategy adopted by Nawaz League. Both clearly seem to be in cohorts.
If there is an iota of any intention to do justice, CJP should stop targetting only one political party. On the contrary he should bracket all cases of all political parties and proceed simultaneously.
Just like he validated Musharraf's 1999 take-over and not only validated but also gave him the power to amend Constitution, he is again committing treason covered by Article 6.
To give another example, he refused bail to Javed Hashmi when Musharraf was in his prime but when political power shifted, the same Javed Hashmi was granted bail.
The nation showered so much respect on him during struggle for his restoration (or perhaps, reinstatement) but he is not repaying by remaining independent.
CJP badly needs to prove that he is not following signals from Nawaz Sharif.
I wonder, if he has any authority, he is most puppet PM in history of democracy :P
@Pashtun: Why disciplinary action?? Whenever there is some case proceeding in the court of law then every authority and civil servant is bound to act upon court orders. Lets not forget, what our great leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah said to the officers. He asked them to act in accordance with law and never listen to what ministers or politicians order to them. The majesty of law can only be ensured by complying to the court orders..
Mr Gilani; you have authority to give valid order in bonafide and not other wise
the fact is if Government does not follow the orders of the highest court of the country, who will..............................
Sohail Ahmed had undermined his authority.
Or did he wanted to say Supreme Court had undermined his Authority? Because Sohail Ahmed was acting on the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan
Since the Constitution of Pakistan is Supreme and Article 190 says "All executive and judicial authorities through out Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court" then the Bureaucracy is being told (by making OSD) to avoid complying with the orders and directions of Supreme Court, in violation of Constitution
It is incumbent upon all civil servants obey only the lawful orders.any order which is contrary to Supreme Court's directive is unlawful. On the part of Prime Minister it is naive to insist and push unlawful directive. when PM and his Secretaries delay things or don't decide things timely the Establishment Division has to take action. The disrespect of law and courts by Gilani Government is driving away foreign investment from Pakistan.
It is time for Gilani to "Face the Music". Let him appear in the court and answer some questions.
Undermined his authority? There is a strong view that with Kayani and Asif Ali Zardari calling all the shots Yousaf Raza Gilani has little authority to speak of.
Could it be that Sohail Ahmed's restoration of FIA official Hussain Asghar may have imperiled the Gillani junior's future?