LAHORE: Justice Shamas Mahmood Mirza of Lahore High Court on Wednesday directed the railway ministry and auditor general of pakistan to produce the auditor report regarding illegal recruitments that took place in railways ministry in 2013. The judge earlier had issued notices in previous hearings to auditor general of Pakistan and ministry of railways but the order was not complied with. The judge now directed them to appear on May 28 by granting them a last opportunity. Petitioner counsel Sheraz Zaka alleged that illegal appointments have been made in ministry of railways with respect to various positions in law and finance department of railways. He said that these appointments were due to political influences and nepotism in March 2013 when the Election Commission of Pakistan had notified that no new appointments in the ministry should be made as elections were going to take place in May, 2013. He submitted that such appointees have been exercising their powers illegally and had become a burden on taxpayers’ money. He pointed out that the audit report of auditor general of Pakistan also stated that these appointments were illegal. Published in Daily Times, May 17th 2018.