Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: It seems that law does not apply to the National Assembly (NA) when it comes to transparency and making appointments to high positions.

Muhammad Aslam Waseem has been appointed as Deputy Secretary (BPS-19) at the NA in violation of rules and basic criteria, documents available with the Daily Times revealed.

Interestingly, Waseem was terminated in 2007 from the Punjab Judicial Service in Lahore, where he was holding the slot of civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate, and he was disqualified from joining any further government service.

“The officer is not allowed to enter the judicial service in any capacity in the future,” reads Waseem’s termination notification signed by LHC Register Dost Muhammad Malik.

According to the Legal Practitioner Act 1976, it is mandatory for a candidate to have at least 10 years’ practice in law or 10 years post-qualification experience while serving in Grade 17 in the legal field, for clinching a slot in the judiciary.

However, Waseem lacked the experience and qualifications while serving in the Punjab Judicial Service in Lahore. Waseem, before becoming judicial magistrate in Lahore, was serving in the Punjab Police as Assistant Sub Inspector in BPS-09 and he resigned from the police after his selection in the judiciary. According to the legal practitioner Act 1976, at least two years’ practice in law, was mandatory for a person who wishes to apply for the judicial magistrate position, and it is a fundamental requirement for an individual to have a licence issued by Pakistan Bar Council and he/she should not have any affiliation with any government department. Waseem was also not fulfilling the criteria when his judicial appointment was made.

According to a senior judicial officer in Lahore, who wished anonymity, “Waseem did not disclose his police service record when he was appointed as judicial magistrate”. “Waseem also concealed from the PIPS administration about his ex-service in the judiciary and his removal,” said an official of the PIPS who did not want to be named. A source in the NA said that Waseem did not disclose about his termination from the judiciary. Waseem also served at the Institute of Parliamentary Affairs Studies (PIPS) as deputy director before joining the NA, sources told the Daily Times. Nobody was available at the Federal Public Service Commission’s legal wing to comment on the issue. However, the Commission’s Assistant Director Ali Aksar claimed that the said appointment was an internal matter of the NA. NA Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi was not available for comments. However, his assistant Shokut Noumani expressed ignorance about the issue and said that the Establishment Division (ED) was authorised to answer such queries. Despite repeated attempts, the ED secretary Syed Tahir Shahbaz was not available for comments on the issue.