LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the federal government for September 26 on a writ petition challenging the appointment of Akhtar Buland Rana as auditor general of Pakistan.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued this order on a petition moved by Advocate Rana Ilmuddin, who contended that Rana should not be made auditor general as serious allegations of corruption had been made against him.
The petitioner said that the federal government had appointed Rana as auditor general because it wanted to cover up acts of corruption. He said Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution barred the appointment of such a person to a constitutional post. He said on August 27, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had written to President Asif Ali Zardari expressing this concern over Rana’s appointment.
According to the letter, the charges against Rana include that he sexually assaulted a subordinate, made a false accusation about former auditor general Tanveer Agha before the Supreme Judicial Council, obtained Canadian nationality without seeking permission from the government, travelled abroad on three Pakistani passports and two national identity cards, and “most significantly, he never qualified for his promotion to grade 22”, said the petition.
President Asif Ali Zardari had rejected the chief justice’s concern.
The president stated that Rana had been exonerated of the sexual assault charge and his dual nationality was not impediment to his duties.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2011.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
But the GoP ARE ON RECORD having rebutted the objection against the appointment of the AG on account of his holding dual citizenship by treating him as an ordinary government servant who are not debarred from holding post in a similar position.
WHEN HIS APPOINTMENT HAS BEEN MADE TREATING HIM AS AN ORDINARY GOVERNMENT SERVANT WHY SHOULD HE NOT BE REMOVED AS SUCH?
The gentle man has already been appointed as Auditor General of Pkistan, has taken oath of the office, and the appointment has been assented to by the President. Auditor General has protection under the constition. Article 168 clause ( 5 ) states, " The Auditor General shall not be removed from his office except in the like manner and the like grounds as a judge of Supreme Court." Judges of the Suprem Court can only be proceeded against Before Supreme Judicial Council, a tribunal formed under Article 209 of the Constition. A high court under its writ jurisdiction has been specifically barred to adjudicate in such cases. The Writ Petition is very likely to fail.