The apex court has issued notices to Punjab’s caretaker government, the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) and the Punjab advocate general in a case related to sacking of 97 law officers in the province including Punjab General Punjab (AG) Ahmad Awais.
On January 24, the Punjab secretary law barred the 97 law officers, including 32 additional and 65 assistant advocate generals, appointed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led provincial government from working after the approval of the caretaker government.
A Lahore High Court (LHC) single bench on February 2 set aside the caretaker government’s order. However, a five-judge LHC bench on February 14 upheld by a majority the caretaker’s government’s decision and dismissed the petitions filed by the sacked law officers.
The officers later challenged the LHC order in the Supreme Court whose division bench led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan on Tuesday took up the appeals.
The counsel for the petitioner, Abid Zubairi, requested the court to stay the caretaker government’s January 24 notification, contending that a caretaker government cannot remove or appoint officers on important posts and its purpose is only to run the day to day affairs of the province.
“When the law officers were removed on January 24, the caretaker cabinet of Punjab had not been sworn in. The order of the caretaker government should therefore be suspended,” he said.
The court, however, rejected this request, adding that it was right now issuing notices to the caretaker government, the AGP and the Punjab AG. The case was later adjourned for an indefinite period.
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