Court halts single judge decision, reinstates Hafeez Ur Rehman as PTA Chairman, per IHC order
The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has suspended an order by Justice Babar Sattar that removed Major General (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman as the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The decision was made by a two-member division bench comprising Justices Muhammad Asif and Inaam Ameen Minhas.
The court's ruling came after PTA's counsel, Advocate Salman Mansoor, raised serious procedural objections to the earlier ruling. Mansoor contended that the judgement violated the principles laid out in Article 199 of the Constitution and argued that the relief granted in the single-bench decision was not even sought in the petition.
Mansoor further argued that the bench reserved judgement without hearing two petitions containing objections. The court acknowledged that arguments were not completed when the judgement was reserved, according to Mansoor.
During the pendency of the petition, Rehman was appointed as Member (Administration) and subsequently as PTA chairman. However, the court observed that the recruitment process for the post 'lacked integrity' and suffered from 'malafide in law'.
The 99-page judgement issued by Justice Babar Sattar, provides for the appointment of the head of regulatory authority's head on a temporary basis. The court, in its order issued in 2023, had already noted that any appointment made pursuant to the advertisement would remain subject to the outcome of the petition.
The subsequent steps taken by the federal government in filling the post of Member (Administration) pursuant to the impugned advertisement are not sustainable in the eyes of law and are of no legal effect, according to the judgement. All subsequent decisions in pursuit of such process, including the appointment of the PTA chairman, are illegal and of no legal effect, as per the judgement.
Advocate Qasim Wadud represented retired Major General Hafeez Ur Rehman in court. The defense attorney for the released PTA chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman in the intra-court appeals heard on Thursday was not specified in the available information.
The single-member bench of the Supreme Court stated that the entire edifice of processes and decisions built on an 'illegal foundation' must crumble upon such 'illegal foundation'. The court suspended Babar Sattar's ruling and reinstated Hafeez Ur Rehman as PTA chairman.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
