Daily Times

LAHORE: Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi of Lahore High Court on Thursday sought assistance of jurist Faisal Naqvi while hearing a petition challenging the appointment of 12 MPAs as directors of different five public sector companies.

The judge directed Faisal Naqvi to appear for assistance on November 23. Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf and opposition leader in Punjab assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed moved the petition. The Petitioner submitted that MPA Ramazan Siddique Bhatti was functioning as one of the directors of Lahore Transport Company, MPAs Nasreen Nawaz, Ramzan Siddique Bhatti, and Kiran Dar are functioning as directors of Lahore Parking Company, MPAs Kashif Padhiar, Aman Ullah Khan, Qazi Adnan Fareed, Rana Baber Hussain, Ch Lal Hussain, Mahmood Qadir Khan, Qamar-ul-Islam, and Waheed Gull are functioning as directors of Punjab Saaf Pani Company, MPA Majid Zahoor is functioning as one of the directors of Lahore Waste Management Company while MPA Hussain Jahania Gardezi was functioning as one of the directors of Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company.

He submitted that these five companies were incorporated under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 and these companies were owned by the Punjab government, which is regulated under Public Sector Companies Corporate Governance Rules 2013. He said that these MPAs were functioning as directors of five different public sector companies in violation of section 3(7) of Public Sector Companies Corporate Government Rules 2013.

He said that this provision stipulated that no person having a political or legislative role could become a director of a company governed by Public Sector Companies Corporate Governance Rules 2013. He said that these 12 were already members of the Punjab Assembly while simultaneously functioning as directors of the companies controlled by Punjab government. As such, their functioning as board of directors was illegal and void.

He pleaded that these MPAs had failed to perform their statutory obligations and their functioning in these companies had brought political interference, lack of transparency and conflict of interest. He said that the affairs of these companies should have been administered on a transparent basis, but actually the affairs of these companies are tainted with malpractices.

He requested to issue directions to implement Public Sector Companies Corporate Governance Rules 2013, which do not allow any legislator to work as director. He also requested that the federal law ministry and the Punjab chief secretary to abstain from appointing any member having a political or any legislative role and also to declare the exercise of authority by these MPAs as directors illegal, null and void.