LAHORE, Dec 16: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to attorney-general Latif Khosa and advocate-general Khwaja Haris in a petition challenging the appointment of the provincial ombudsman and the Punjab Service Tribunal (PST) chairman.

The bench comprising Justice Hamid Ali Shah and Justice Tariq Shamim also issued notices to other respondents, which include the Punjab chief secretary, the services secretary, the law secretary, secretary to the chief minister, PST chairman Justice Arshad Jahangir (retired) and PA speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal.

Punjab PPP finance secretary Aurangzeb Burki through Chaudhry Fawad Husain advocate submitted that the appointments were unlawful because acting governor Rana Iqbal made them in the absence of governor Salmaan Taseer.

The petitioner said Mr Taseer proceeded abroad on a three-day personal visit on Dec 6 and Rana Iqbal was sworn in as acting governor who rushed with the appointment of the PST chairman and the ombudsman.

He submitted that the job of an acting governor was just the stopgap arrangement to perform day-to-day functions of the government.

Fawad Husain advocate said so far the policy matter as well as the appointment on key posts in the province were concerned, the acting governor was not authorised to take such decisions.

He said Rana Iqbal violated his mandate during his brief stint by making appointment of the service tribunal chief. He said the appointment was unconstitutional and illegal.

The counsel said as the summary was already pending with the Governor’s Secretariat, the services secretary moved another summary on a holiday at which the appointment was made.

He submitted that the act of the chief secretary was also against the dictum laid down by the Supreme Court in Al-Jehad Trust case wherein it was decided that the acting authority would perform the functions of routine nature.

He said the appointment was made in a slipshod manner, with undue haste that prima facie showed mala fide on the part of the respondents.

He prayed the court to declare the entire process of the appointment as unconstitutional and illegal.