Hearing of petition challenging appointment of PEF staff adjourned

LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday adjourned the hearing of a petition challenging appointment of eight directors of the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) until April 28. Earlier, a reply was submitted in the court on behalf of the Punjab government and education department stating that all appointments were made according to the law. The court asked the education deputy secretary to explain whether the newly-appointed directors belong to the private sector.
The court further inquired from the official that whether Dr Zafar Iqbal Quershi, Sarah Afzal and Mohiuddin Wani belong to the private sector and according to what standard they were appointed as directors. The deputy secretary told the court that these people were working without salary. The court asked the deputy secretary to explain how these people were connected to the private sector. The deputy secretary sought time in this regard. The court adjourning the hearing and observed that no further time would be granted after the next hearing.
Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed was hearing a petition filed by Muhammad & Ahmad, a public litigation firm, through its counsel Azhar Siddique, submitting that the PEF was first established under the Punjab Education Foundation Act 1991. But the act was dissolved through the Punjab Education Foundation Act 2004 and the PEF was also dismissed, he added. According to Section 5 of the new law, the petitioner submitted, a board consisting of seven government and eight non-government directors will be constituted to run the affairs of
the foundation.
He alleged that the Punjab government, through a notification dated March 18, appointed six government officers/public servants on seats reserved for non-government directors. The petitioner’s counsel contended that the appointments were politically motivated and in violation of the law and constitution. He requested the court to declare the appointments as illegal. The court was also requested through a civil miscellaneous application to stop the directors from functioning and suspend the notification of their appointment.