Zubair Qureshi
A day after suspension by the federal government over alleged corruption and a pending inquiry, Mayor of Islamabad Sheikh Ansar Aziz filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the interior ministry’s move that was endorsed by the federal cabinet.
Justice Mohsin AKhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court while hearing Ansar Aziz’ petition issued notices to Secretary Local Government, Chairman Local Government Commission and the Federal Secretary Ministry of Interior and adjourned the hearing until May 21 (Thursday). The court to a request by the petitioner’s counsel remarked the decision on issuing stay order would be made after hearing all the parties.
In his petition, Aziz pleaded with the court to cancel the notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on a public holiday (Sunday) and allow him to resume office until the court concluded the matter.
Aziz, who belongs to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was removed for a period of 90 days on the recommendations of Islamabad’s Local Government Commission dominated by members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). The move elicited an immediate reaction from the PML-N which termed the move “a coup d’état” and vowed to challenge it in court.
In his petition, Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz nominated the federal government, Ministry of Interior and the Local Government Commission (LGC) while requesting the court to direct the said institutions to “work within the orbit of the law”.
Sheikh Ansar Aziz’ counsel drew the court’s attention to an Islamabad High Court decision that had directed the federal government not to take any action against the mayor.
It was in February he said this year that IHC had barred the federal government from taking any action or implementation on a reference, seeking suspension of Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz, filed against him by the Local Government Commission for allegedly a number of charges.
By suspending my client the federal government had committed a contempt of court, the counsel argued.
Aziz was elected as Mayor and head of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) in April 2016, following the first-ever local government elections in Islamabad held in November 2015. The MCI was formed after devolving major departments of the CDA.
The LGC is headed by PTI Member National Assembly (MNA) from Islamabad Ali Nawaz Awan, who is also Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on the affairs of the capital’s affairs.
The commission’s two members from opposition parties — Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the PML-N and Raja Pervez Ashraf of the PPP — were not present at the meeting at which the commission took up the matter out of agenda and decided to recommend to the government to suspend the mayor in connection with the intercity bus terminals’ (five bus stations in various parts of the city) contract worth Rs42 million, which the MCI had awarded last year.
