ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ordered former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Principal Secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad to appear in person before the court on a petition seeking the initiation of contempt proceedings against him and the joint secretary cabinet division for placing five regulatory bodies under the concerned ministries in violation of the court orders.
A single-member bench comprising of Justice Athar Minullah had nullified the notification regarding subordinating five regulatory authorities—Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and Frequency Allocation Board (FAB)—under the ministries.
During the last hearing, Additional Attorney General Afnan Karim Kundi appeared before the court while Joint Secretary Iram Hussain appeared before the court on behalf of Fawad Hasan Fawad.
The additional attorney general argued that orders were suspended through intra-court appeal. Upon this, Justice Athar Minullah remarked summary was issued without suspending court orders from any other court and then the order was challenged. He said under the Supreme Court order, a notification could not be issued until the court order was suspended. He made it clear that no one has right to issue court order without suspending notification.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till August 7.
