PESHAWAR: Accepting the petitions of two businessmen, a Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday declared the appointment of the National Tariff Commission chief by the federal government illegal.

In a short order on the petitions of Shaheen Steel Service proprietor Musa Raza and tiles importer Niaz Ahmad, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Younas Taheem ruled that the appointment of NTC chairman Qasim M Niaz was in violation of the provisions of the National Tariff Commission Act.

Earlier, the lawyers for both the sides completed arguments in the case.

Babar Khan Yousafzai, lawyer for the petitioners, contended that the NTC was an autonomous investigation authority of Government of Pakistan on trade and tariff matters.

He stated that the NTC was set up under the National Tariff Commission Act, 1990.

Rules federal govt appointed NTC chief against relevant law

He said under Section 4 of the NTC Act, the NTC would comprise five members appointed by the federal government in the prescribed manner and that the federal government was empowered to appoint one of the members as the chairman.

The lawyer said under the law, the member would have at least a master’s degree or professional degree or qualification from an accredited university or institute in international trade laws, business and commercial laws, economics, accountancy, tariffs and trade, commerce and trade, or a trade-related subject.

He added that the member was also required to possess at least 15 years of professional experience in international trade law, business and commercial laws, economics, accountancy, harmonised tariffs, commerce and trade, tariff and trade or other trade-related technical fields.

Mr Yousafzai said the current NTC chairman didn’t have the required qualification as he only possessed a master’s degree in defence and strategic studies.

He added that the prime minister had approved the appointment of Mr Qasim and four other NTC members without consulting the federal cabinet, which was a violation of the law and Article 90 of the Constitution.

The lawyer said the Supreme Court had ruled last year that the federal government meant the federal cabinet.

He said the current NTC chief’s appointment order was issued in Sept 2016, whereas its approval was taken from the cabinet in Mar 2017.

The lawyer said the prime minister couldn’t exercise the cabinet’s powers on his own.

However, the lawyer for Mr Qasim contended that his client had also done a BS in the relevant field from UK and was qualified to become a member of the NTC.

He added that the appointment of his client as the NTC chairman was made in line with the law and that none of the provisions were violated by the government for it.

The petitioners’ counsel however contested the argument insisting the BS done by the NTC chairman was a three-year course and therefore, it was not equivalent to the master’s degree.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2017