IHC reinstates NBP chairman, president

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowed an intra-court appeal filed by the Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on Monday and reinstated the appointment of NBP Chairman Zubair Soomro and President Arif Usmani.

A two-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq, declared the appointments of both the officers as correct. The short order said that the reasons for granting the intra-court appeals would be issued later.

Earlier, a single bench, comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, had declared the appointments of Usmani and Soomro as illegal. The bench had said that Usmani’s appointment was illegal due to lack of relevant educational qualifications, while Soomro’s appointment was not made in a transparent manner.

The notification of the appointment of Arif Usmani as the NBP President was issued on 12 February 2019.

The appointment was challenged in the IHC last year.