ISLAMABAD: The Islam­abad High Court (IHC) on Thursday restrained Naeem Bokhari from working as the chairman of Pakistan Television (PTV).

The court noted that the appointment of Mr Bokhari and five directors of the PTV board had been made in violation of the decision of the Supreme Court.

The ruling was issued by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah on two petitions challenging the appointment of Mr Bokhari, acting managing director of PTV board Shahira Shahid and directors retired Col Hassan Imad Mohammadi, Asad Ahmed Jaspal, Asghar Nadeem Syed and Waseem Raza Abid.

During the course of hearing, Mazhar Ali Memon, director general of the information ministry, told the court that a summary had been moved for the appointment of Mr Bokhari and the PTV directors.

He however conceded that nobody in the ministry had perused the Supreme Court’s decision on the appointment of Ataul Haq Qasmi as PTV chairman in which the apex court had defined the criteria for appointment to the post.

Advocate Shahid Mehmood Khokhar, representing the PTV, claimed that the summary for the appointment of Mr Bokhari was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the apex court. He insisted that Mr Bokhari’s name was picked from the prescribed list and he was eligible to hold the position under the Companies Act 2017.

Justice Minallah reminded the lawyer that similar matter had already been discussed before the apex court which had set aside the appointment of Mr Qasmi emphasising that even the federal minister was not empowered to cherry-pick.

Then Justice Minallah issued an order which stated: “The Supreme Court has discussed in detail the principles and law governing appointment of a Director and Chairman of the Corporation. It is laudable that respondent no.6 [Naeem Bokhari] has refused to accept salary or other benefits and perks related to his office but this is not a relevant consideration for ignoring the law regarding appointment as Director or Chairman of the Corporation.

“The principles and law laid down by the august Supreme Court in Qasmi’s case, described that the appointment could only be made in accordance with the Esta Code.

“The process of appointment must not indicate that it was meant to benefit a predetermined candidate.

“The summary, proposing a candidate to be appointed as a Director having more than the upper age limit of sixty five years, must contain justification for relaxation. The reasons must be specific and relevant in order to justify the extra ordinary act of relaxation of the prescribed age.

“The Federal Government i.e. the Prime Minister and the members of the Cabinet while granting relaxation of age have to record reasons to justify their decision.

“Publishing of an advertisement to gauge the talent pool available, filtering and then assessing the best candidate in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Rules of 2013 have been declared as mandatory requirements in the context of appointment of a Director of the Corporation.”

Justice Minallah ruled that the entire process of appointment of Bokhari and the directors violated the aforementioned principles and law.

However, the court while showing restraint directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to place a fresh summary along with a copy of this order before the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet in its next meeting so that they may take appropriate decisions.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2021