Administrative issues: ‘Depoliticise Health Department’

Syed Adil Gillani’s appointment as PM Inspection Commission’s adviser challenged.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) sought assistance on Monday from the attorney general and the advocate general on an argument that the Health Department should be free of the chief minister’s control.

The court heard a petition against steps taken by the government to control measles. Advocate Azhar Siddique said the Health Department should be depoliticised. He said the department should not be a part of a political government and that a special regulatory authority should deal with its matters.

“A law should be promulgated to ensure that the department is not part of a political government.” The lawyer said several officers at the department had been working for international heath organisations after they were granted leaves. He said the government should remove such officers from service.

The court adjourned the hearing until June 25.

Adviser to PM

Justice Ijazul Ahsan of the LHC on Monday sought a reply from the federal government on a petition challenging appointment of Syed Adil Gillani as adviser to the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission.

Petitioner Kashif Gondal said the appointment was in violation of the Constitution. He said the impugned appointment had been made in a dubious manner. It was the result of favouritism and nepotism, he said. He requested the court to set aside the appointment for being unlawful.

Justice Ahsan directed the government to submit a reply in two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2015.