The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stayed the appointment of Member (Administration) at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and directed the federation not to proceed further with the process of any recruitment pursuant to the impugned advertisement till the next date of hearing.
The order issued by the IHC noted the Writ Petition No.1561 of 2023 by Usama Khilji Versus Federation of Pakistan, etc where Asad Ladha was the advocate for the petitioner.
High Court further stated that the petitioner is aggrieved by the advertisement issued for the post of Member (Administration) in Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (“PTA”).
The petitioner had pleaded that pursuant to Section 3 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (ReOrganization) Act, 1996 (“Act”) three posts for members have been created within PTA. And any further positions can only be created by the Federal Government.
He pleaded that Cabinet has not yet created any additional post for member admin and hence the announcement of induction member admin is a breach of the Pakistan Telecom Authority’s Chairman and Member (Appointment and Qualifications) Rules, 2013 (“Rules”).
Petitioner submitted that the announcement is therefore ultra vires of provisions of the Act and the Rules.
The court, after hearing the plea, directed the respondents not to proceed further with the process of any recruitment pursuant to the impugned advertisement till the next date of the hearing.