The Islamabad High Court has ordered the removal of the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Maj Gen Hafeez Ur Rehman (Retired), from office.
Justice Babar Sattar, in a 99-page judgment, accepted the petition challenging the chairman’s appointment and ruled that the appointment was not made in accordance with the law.
The court further directed that the chairman be removed immediately and that a senior member of the PTA be appointed as acting chairman on a temporary basis.
The judgment says that the entire process of appointment of Rehman as Member (Administration) and as Chairman PTA has been found to suffer from malice in law being the product of an unconstitutional and illegal recruitment process, he shall cease to hold such appointments and shall immediately relinquish charge for such offices.
The judgment adds that the senior-most serving member PTA will temporarily assume the charge of the office of Chairman PTA, till such time that the Federal Government appoints a regular Chairman in accordance with the requirements of Section 3 of the Telecom Act, read with provisions of the PTA Appointment Rules, while following an objective and transparent process for appointing Chairman PTA.
Meanwhile, Rehman has filed an intra-court appeal and urged the court to fix it for an urgent hearing.
