LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended an order passed by caretaker government in Punjab about removal of 97 law officers appointed during tenure of PTI government. LHC Justice Shahid Karim issued order and directed all law officers to resume their jobs and appeared before courts. Expressing resentment over non-appearance of law officers, he said judiciary was unable to work for four days. No one cares about people whose case are pending in courts, he remarked. Secretary Law barred 97 law officers, including 32 additional and 65 assistant advocate generals, appointed by PTI government from working after approval of interim Cabinet. Last week, High Court suspended notification issued by provincial government to remove Advocate General Punjab Ahmad Awais and reinstated him to his office.

LHC issued ruling on petition filed by Awais arguing that caretaker government had no powers to remove him since it was not an elected setup. He said Election Commission of Pakistan had appointed interim government to hold elections only in province. His counsel pleaded court to set aside removal of advocate general being unlawful. However, lawyer for government argued that Chief Minister could replace chief law officer.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 03 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.