Appointment of PM’s relative: IHC reserves judgement in PCIC case

Incumbent deputy managing director says he was dismissed prematurely.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved judgement on a plea against appointment of deputy managing director of the Pak-China Investment Company (PCIC).

Chief Justice IHC Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi, on March 7, suspended the notification of appointing Shahnawaz Mehmood as deputy managing director PCIC, who also is married to a niece of the prime minister.

The court then issued notices to the finance ministry.

The incumbent Deputy Managing Director, Javed Mahmood, had filed a petition challenging the appointment Shahnawaz Mehmood.



Advocate Ali Zafar, representing the finance ministry, argued that his ministry was not satisfied with the performance of Javed Mahmood and it was their prerogative to nominate anyone else for the post.

Barrister Masroor Shah, appearing on the behalf of the PCIC, explained that the PCIC was a Pak-China venture and Shahnawaz Mehmood was nominated by the ministry.

He argued that there was a difference between nomination and appointment and Shahzawaz Mehmood had been nominated and there was no need to conduct an interview of anybody else for this post.



He said that there was no bar if the post was awarded to the relative of the prime minister. “In fact, children of judges are also appointed for jobs and there is no harm if the prime minister’s relative is nominated for the post,” he said.

Earlier, Advocate Zahir Bashir Ansari, the counsel for the petitioner, argued that his client was appointed on January 1, 2011 as deputy managing director for a period of three years, yet the government issued a notification appointing a relative of the prime minister before his tenure was expired.

He said that the finance ministry has illegally appointed a political figure while his client has over 40 years of experience in banking and has previously worked as chief executive of the Hub Power Company Limited (HPCL). After hearing arguments from both the parties, the court reserved its judgement.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2013.