ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, ordered the removal of Arif Usmani and Zubair Soomro from the posts of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) president and its chairman, respectively.

A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani announced its verdict, which he had reserved after hearing the arguments of all the parties in four identical petitions challenging the appointment of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) president and its chairman.

The court directed the federal government to immediately remove the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President, Arif Usmani, and the board of directors (BoD) Chairman, Zubair Soomro.

The IHC bench announced this judgment, after hearing the petitions moved by four citizens including Syed Jahangir, Javed Iqbal, Fazal Raheem, and Latif Qureshi.

Earlier, Usmani's counsel, Ahmed Bilal Sufi, argued that the NBP had earned good profit under the stewardship of the current president. He also presented a research by The Wall Street Journal, which argues that physics graduates are successful in every field. Soomro's lawyer said the petitions are based on mala fide intentions as the petitioner is not an affected party.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021