Ban on meeting Faisal Sakhi Butt: Court summons top CDA officials for violating order

Explanation sought why they violated restraining orders.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday summoned top officials of Capital Development Authority (CDA) for meeting Prime Minister’s Chief Coordinator for Islamabad Faisal Sakhi Butt in violation of its orders.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued show cause notices to CDA Director General (DG) Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu, Deputy Director Municipal Administration (DMA) Mansoor Ahmed Khan, Director Coordination Riaz Randhawa and Director Administration Hussain Raza Zaidi and directed them to appear before the bench on June 26, after reports of their meetings with Butt surfaced in the media despite the court’s restraining orders.

On May 22, the bench had suspended the appointment notification of then chairman of Prime Minister’s Task Force on Islamabad in response to a petition. Justice Siddiqui had made it clear that no CDA employee would visit Butt’s office while the former task force chairman was barred from entering the authority’s premises.

During the course of hearing, Justice Siddiqui mentioned newspaper reports stating CDA officials meet Butt despite restraining orders. Responding to the observation, counsel for CDA Jawad Nazir maintained that these officials meet Butt in their personal capacity.

Shahid Akbar, a resident of Islamabad, had filed a petition through former Islamabad Bar Association president Advocate Niazullah Niazi, challenging Butt’s appointment as chairman of Prime Minister’s Task Force on capital. The petitioner’s counsel had maintained that the task force had complete control over CDA affairs. “This is evident from CDA’s website which states that the chairman issued directions to the CDA on various matters,” said Niazi. The principal secretary had issued a notification appointing Butt as task force chairman in December, 2011, to oversee CDA’s affairs.

He argued the CDA is a statutory body under the CDA Ordinance, 1960. “The ordinance does not empower any office, person or authority to appoint a task force to oversee the authority’s work,” Niazi added. He argued Butt’s appointment as chairman was in violation of the CDA Ordinance and requested the court to suspend the notification.

DG IB given one month to promote inspectors

Meanwhile, IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman on Tuesday gave DG Intelligence Bureau (IB) one month to promote inspectors to the next grade to avoid being summoned by the court.

Failure to comply with court orders will result in the issuance of a show cause notice, warned the IHC chief justice. Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi had directed the DG IB to promote 40 IB inspectors to the next grade on March 29.

Earlier, the petitioners’ counsel had filed a contempt application requesting the court to start criminal proceedings against DG IB for defying court orders two months later on May 29. These inspectors were reinstated under the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Act, 2010.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2012.