Daily Times

Justice Shahid Karim of Lahore High Court on Monday directed the Punjab government and Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering Minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed to raise the issue in cabinet meeting regarding the functioning of 56 public sector companies.

The judge also directed the minister to raise the issue before the cabinet whether the companies should continue functioning or else the court would decide the matter by December 7.

Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed had moved this petition during the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government when he was opposition leader in Punjab Assembly. Petitioner counsel Sheraz Zaka had submitted that these public sector companies were functioning in violation of Article 140 of the Constitution and impinges upon the efficient functioning of local government. He said that these 56 companies had made political appointments comprising of Provincial Assembly members which should be declared in violation of public sector companies rules 2013.

He had requested to declare these companies illegal and also direct the government not to make further political appointments.

Published in Daily Times, December 4^th 2018.