Taking Care of Caretaker

Following his controversial appointment as Punjab’s Caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi is facing a number of legal challenges

LAHORE: Following his controversial appointment as Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister last month, Mohsin Naqvi is facing a number of legal challenges in the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court.

PTI and its allied parties have challenged his appointment as well as the massive transfers and postings that he has been making in the largest province, which PTI believes is part of pre- poll rigging.

As soon as he assumed charge, Mohsin Naqvi fired a couple of key law officers including Punjab’s Advocate General whom the PTI’s previous government had appointed.

However, the caretaker CM faced a setback when Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir of the Lahore High Court reinstated them after suspending the notification of their removal.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Awais also challenged his removal as AGP in the court. However, this time the caretaker administration employed a different strategy since it did not trust Justice Shabbir. The matter was transferred to Justice Asim Hafeez but, too, he reinstated the ex-AGP Awais, leaving the caretaker administration quite embarrassed.

In a related development, Sheikh Rashid – the incarcerated leader of the Awami Muslim League (AML) – filed a petition to revoke Mohsin Raza Naqvi’s appointment as interim chief minister of Punjab.

The LHC sent notices to the Pakistan Election Commission and the federal government, requesting their response on it.

Mansoor Usman Awan, Pakistan’s attorney general, and Ahmed Awais, Punjab’s advocate general, were both requested by the court for legal assistance in Sheikh Rasheed’s petition.

The petitioner argued that the name of Mohsin Naqvi was put forth by the incumbent government on account of his close association with the current ruling elite, particularly, Asif Ali Zardari, the Sharif Family and his political enmity against the opposition.

He asked the court to invalidate the notification and deem it to be unconstitutional.

The petition requested that the ECP and its members be censured and held accountable for violating their constitutional position, engaging in misconduct, and being “declared to be partial and incapable of holding a ‘free and fair election’” because they appointed the caretaker minister in violation of the law and the constitution.

It said that Mohsin Naqvi’s name was proposed by the current administration due to his close ties to members of the ruling class, particularly Asif Ali Zardari and the Sharif Family, and his animosity towards the opposition.

“The acting chief minister, Punjab Naqvi, has openly supported PDM while participating in regime change against the PTI. As a result of a plea bargain and voluntary return under Section 25 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, Caretaker CM Naqvi was found guilty in the matter of corruption and corrupt practices brought by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In a suo moto case, the Supreme Court ruled that anyone suspected of corruption cannot hold public office unless they offer to pay back the money.

The petitioned prayed that based on the argument, Mohsin Naqvi is not eligible to be named caretaker chief minister of Punjab and lacks the legal right to remain in that position.

The petitioner demanded that Naqvi’s appointment as interim chief minister be, therefore, ruled illegitimate and unlawful and that the notification appointing him be revoked.

Furthermore, it was demanded that Naqvi should refrain from appointing any cabinet or carrying out any election-related duties until the petition’s outcome.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court has received another plea, questioning the caretaker CM’s authority to fire the employees and transfer or post public officers.

Hammad Azhar, a former federal minister, and other PTI leaders filed the plea with the primary goal of getting a court to review the chief secretary of Punjab’s notification of Feb 4.

They also asked for a court injunction to prevent the caretaker government from transferring or posting public employees from the districts where by-elections or general elections are to be held.

Barrister Sameer Khosa argued that the petitioners were the candidates for the Punjab Assembly constituencies’ by-elections and were aggrieved by the government’s notification.

He claimed that the 2017 Election Act and the Constitution’s provisions were violated by the notification. He pointed out that after the ECP sent out the first notification in accordance with section 7 of the Election Act on January 27, they issued a second notification on February 3 by mentioning constituencies of the district where elections were going to be held.

The attorney emphasised that the government swiftly provided the controversial notification on February 4 by relocating all of the officials, largely to the areas where polls were to be held or the voting process was already underway.

He claimed that without prior consent from the ECP, it was strictly forbidden for the respondents to transfer any officer appointed or deputed in connection with an election or election process.

Nasir Javed Ghumman, a deputy attorney general, disputed the petition’s viability and asserted that all the transfers and postings specified in the contested notification had been made to guarantee a free and fair election.

In order to consider all of the petitions against the interim government’s orders, on Feb 2, the chief justice formed a larger bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and comprising Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabbir, Justice Rasaal Hassan Syed and Justice Asim Hafeez.

However, Justice Syed excused himself from the bench for medical reasons.

That prompted Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti to reconstitute the bench and replace Justice Syed with Justice Shahid Karim.

Beginning on February 14, the larger bench, led by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, will hear all relevant cases on a daily basis after Advocate Awan stated that the government lacked an advocate general of its choice and that the case needed to be resolved immediately.

The government’s attorney was also asked by the court to provide a written response to all the petitions challenging transfers and postings, removal of law officers and appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as caretaker CM.