KARACHI, Dec 26: A Sindh High Court division bench asked a provincial government law officer to produce the gazette notification setting up the provincial local government commission under the Local Government Ordinance for monitoring the working of local councils and their nazims and deputy nazims.

The order was passed by a division bench consisting of Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Syed Mahmood Alam Rizvi in a petition moved by Dadu taluka nazim Nabban Khan alias Nabi Bux Lund.

The petitioner said he had unlawfully been suspended from his elective office by the provincial local government department due to his affiliation with the opposition. The petitioner submitted through Advocate Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada that first bogus corruption inquiries were instituted against him and then he was suspended from office for 90 days on the pretext of corruption cases.

The department had acted in violation of the law instead of referring his case to the local government commission under Section 131 of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

Assistant Advocate-General Adnan Karim Memon submitted that the respondent department and its secretary have proceeded in accordance with the law. Denying that the provincial government had failed to constitute a local government commission in terms of the SLGO, he said the commission had already been set up and was headed by Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani. The commission recommended the petitioner’s suspension so that he could not influence the course of inquiries.

The bench asked the AAG to produce a copy of the notification establishing the commission on Dec 30 and issued notices to the respondents for that date.

Another bench comprising Justices Azizullah M. Memon and Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui issued notices in a fresh petition moved by the ousted taluka nazim of Larkana, Qurban Ali Abbasi.

His earlier petition against his suspension was disposed of as infructuous because the impugned 90-day suspension expired during the pendency of the proceedings. The naib nazim, who belongs to the PPP, has since taken over as nazim in his place.

Mr Abbasi moved a new petition challenging the local government decision to remove him and appoint the naib nazim in his place. The bench issued pre-admission notices to the advocate-general for Dec 30 in the new petition. The petition would be heard by the bench along with Nabban Khan’s p-petition as the bench headed by Justice K.A. Hussain would not be available on that date.

Notice to KBCA

The bench comprising Justices A.M. Memon and N.A. Siddiqui also issued notices in a petition moved by six building inspectors of the Karachi Building Control Authority. The petitioners submitted through Advocates Chaudhry A. Rashid and Arshad Khan Lodhi that they had been serving in grades 14 and 16 long enough to qualify for promotion to grade 17. They possessed B. Tach (Hons) degrees while one of their colleagues having identical qualification and experience had recently been promoted to grade 17. This, they said, was a clear case of discrimination. Notices were issued to the KBCA and other respondents for Jan 16.

Brokers’ appeals

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Zawwar Hussain Jaffery and Sarmad Jalal Osmany, meanwhile, adjourned the initial hearing of the petitions for leave to appeal moved by two brokerage houses which had been asked by the high court to furnish bank guarantees for Rs7 billion to ensure repayment of the investor banks’ loans under the continuous-funding-system contracts.

As the appeals came up before the bench at the SC registry here, the petitioners sought adjournment as talks were being held with the financier banks and other stakeholders for an out-of-court settlement. The petitions would now come up for hearing at 11.30 am on Monday as requested by the brokerage houses.