LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday rejected a reply by the acting chief secretary of Punjab to a petition challenging the appointment of Child Protection Welfare Bureau chairperson Sarah Ahmad.

Justice Shahid Waheed observed that the court had required the government to explain the criteria observed in the appointment of the respondent.

The reply filed by the chief secretary stated that the respondent was a young and energetic who had been serving the child bureau diligently.

The judge expressed dissatisfaction over the reply and directed the acting chief secretary to file a fresh reply answering the court’s queries.

Advocate Abdullah Malik had filed the petition pleading that the respondent lacked experience in relevant fields when she was appointed as chairman of the bureau in February 2019. He said the appointment of the respondent was made in the absence of the board of governors of the bureau as it was constituted in September 2019.

The petitioner stated that the respondent had an experience of the hotel industry and she held different offices in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf as per her resume.

He argued that the impugned appointment had been made in sheer violation of the merit. He asked the court to set aside the appointment of the respondent and order the government to make a fresh appointment strictly on merit.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2022