Removal of ex-NAB chief from CIED post: IHC suspends PAC’s recommendations

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday suspended the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations to remove former chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice Javed Iqbal (retired) as head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance.

A single bench of Acting Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition filed by the former NAB chief Javed Iqbal who is also chairman Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance, and issued notices to the respondents.

After issuing the notices, the IHC bench also directed the respondents including the secretary National Assembly and the secretary PAC to submit their reply in the matter, wherein, the petitioner challenged the minutes of the meeting of the PAC held on 07.07.2022 and the PAC’s decision to approach the prime minister for his removal as head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance.

During the hearing, the court observed that the matter related to the powers of the PAC had also been challenged through the other petitions. Deputy Attorney General Arshad Kayani said that now this matter had been shifted to an inquiry commission from the PAC.

Then, the bench asked the DAG to inform it on the next hearing that whether the proceeding in the PAC into the matter had been ended. The bench remarked that if the PAC had finished the proceedings then this petition would become ineffective.

Later, the judge deferred the hearing of the case till August 11 for further proceedings.

Javed Iqbal filed the petition through Shoaib Shaheen and cited the Federation of Pakistan through its secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, secretary Ministry of Interior, speaker through secretary National Assembly, chairman PAC, and additional secretary PAC as respondents.

The former chairman NAB stated that vide impugned minutes of the meeting of the PAC held on 07.07.2022 in para 7 sub para (iv), wherein, the following direction inter alia have been issued which is reproduce here below for kind perusal of this court. He quoted, “The PAC observed that a serious allegation has been leveled against the former Chairman, NAB who is also currently heading the Commission on Enforced Disappearance should not hold such office and decided to approach the PM to remove him from the post.”

He adopted the stance that all these directions are beyond the scope and ambit of the jurisdiction vested in the PAC as envisaged in Rule 198, 201(5), 202 and 203 of the rules of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, framed under the provision of Article 67 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

He added that moreover, directions envisaged in the impugned minutes of meeting are evidently in contravention to the mandate of law and the prescribed rules of procedure. “These violations are beyond jurisdiction and in complete oblivion to the due process of law and the rule of Law. They are not merely irregularities in procedure rather substantive contravention of the provision of the Constitution and applicable Law. It depicts the violation of Audi AlterumPortam in the complete obliteration of the principles of natural justice and the provision of the Constitution,” the petitioner maintained.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022