ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is unhappy over the alleged misleading of the federal cabinet through appointment of officials in ministries/divisions without prior approval of the government, and the matter may be taken up in the next meeting of the federal cabinet.
Sources informed Pakistan Today that PM Imran was annoyed over the submission of incomplete reports by ministries/division regarding officials who were appointed without the prior approval of the federal government. Therefore, the Cabinet Division asked all ministries/divisions to once again submit a complete report signed by secretaries/additional secretaries as the premier wanted to take strict actions against such appointments, they added.
They also said that certain divisions had not indicated that many important positions were filled without getting approval from the cabinet, whereas the relevant rules and regulations required prior approval of government. On the other hand, sources added, there were divisions which did not carry out proper scrutiny and passed on unnecessary information by indicating almost all appointments, including those where no irregularity had taken place.
Sources said that there was panic in ministries/divisions due to preparation of this report and a possible strict action by the federal government against the officials of ministries/divisions. The fate of almost 300 government servants appointed without cabinet’s approval now hangs in balance, they added.
They further said that beside other appointments, Petroleum Division was also asked to answer questions about the appointment of Director General Petroleum Concession Imran Ahmed, who was removed from the position after eight to nine months into his appointment.
Earlier, PM’s Principal Secretary Azam Khan, in a letter to all federal secretaries and heads of divisions, had directed them to send the lists of appointments without prior approval since 2016 by April 30, so that they could be declared illegal.
The decision was previously validated by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which had declared such appointments as “without jurisdiction and void”.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court (SC), in its judgment dated August 18, 2016, had declared that the federal government included the prime minister and his or her cabinet, therefore, the premier or any other minister/secretary, cannot exclusively and solely represent the federal government, and whenever any law requires that a decision be made by the federal government, then it should be the decision of the cabinet.
