Showing extreme restraint again on Friday, the Supreme Court did not suspend the notification posting Establishment Secretary Sohail Ahmed an officer on special duty (OSD), instead declaring it non-sustainable and directing the competent authority to post him within seven days to his previous office or any other appropriate post, otherwise the notification would stand suspended.
Appearing on notice before a six-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq stated that he could not meet the prime minister to get his response over the posting. To a court query, he said the authority of postings and transfers of bureaucrats rested with the prime minister. The court then observed that although the authority of postings and transfers of bureaucrats rested with the prime minister, the court also had the authority and jurisdiction to examine and review these things under the constitution.
“We cannot allow that a person, being an upright officer, suffer in such a manner and the constitution has given him the right to continue in his office,” the chief justice said. To another court query, the attorney general stated that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Hussain Asghar – who was posted to Gilgit-Baltistan as inspector general while he was investigating the Haj scam and was transferred back to the agency by the establishment secretary on court orders – was still in Gilgit as the Gilgit-Baltistan chief secretary, on orders from Chief Minister Mehdi Shah, had stopped him from leaving the office until appointment of a new police chief, which he conceded was not a right step.
The court ordered Asghar to take charge as FIA director as soon as he reached Islamabad. During the hearing, the chief justice noted that no civil servant could be made OSD. He said there was no complaint against Sohail Ahmed, however he was made OSD for implementing the court orders and upholding the supremacy of the constitution. The court observed that it was well aware of its limits. The chief justice noted that some circles within the federal government did not respect the decisions of the court given in sensitive matters.
The court pointed out that it did not take suo motu notice of the Haj scam on its own, but it was initiated on the complaints of parliamentarians, a Saudi prince, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and hundreds of intending pilgrims. The court also sought weekly progress reports on the investigation in the Haj scam to be conducted by Asghar. Later the court adjourned further hearing for an indefinite period.
Establishment secy’s posting notification non-sustainable: SC
