The Sindh government has been ordered to explain the appointment of a senior bureaucrat as the provincial ombudsman.
The Sindh High Court gave on Monday four weeks to the government to prepare its response. A non-governmental organisation had challenged the appointment of Asad Ashraf Malik, a former inspector general of Sindh.
The petitioner submitted that Malik was not eligible to be appointed as ombudsman for a second term. The candidate cannot be appointed within two years after retirement from government service. On Monday, Justices Maqbool Baqar and Niamatullah Phulpoto took up the case. The respondent is avoiding submission of comments on the petition despite court orders, the bench noted. The Sindh government’s lawyer asked the court to grant him two weeks to file comments. The hearing was put off until October 15.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2012.
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