.
ISLAMABAD:
Supreme Court Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar has noted that public officials are not required to follow illegal orders even if they come from the prime minister.
Justice Kakar made this observation on Tuesday while heading a three-member bench hearing the review petition filed by former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Anwar Saifullah Khan in the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) illegal recruitments case.
Anwar was convicted by a lower court, an order which the Lahore High Court overturned in 2002.
However, in July 2016, the SC held Anwar responsible for the appointment of 145 people in the OGDCL, overturning the LHC verdict.
The SC verdict said that in his capacity as a federal minister, Anwar Saif Ullah Khan imposed his will on a reluctant OGDCL president and got 145 people appointed to various posts after relaxing the relevant rules to please his political friends in Parliament. The former minister subsequently filed a review petition.
During the proceedings, the NAB lawyer (the prosecution in the case) stated that Anwar had ordered the then OGDCL chairman to issue letters of appointment.
Justice Kakar observed that there is a proper procedure for appointments, including advertisements, adding that this is not a monarchy where orders are simply issued. The NAB lawyer said the former minister’s chief of staff had written that there was parliamentary pressure for jobs.
Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, a member of the tribunal, commented that people do ask ministers for jobs. Justice Kakar reiterated that public officials are not obliged to follow illegal orders.
The NAB lawyer said public servants face repercussions if they reject such orders, adding that there had been overstaffing at the OGDCL. Justice Kakar pointed out that there is overstaffing in all government institutions and suggested comparing PIA with international airlines.
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, third member of the tribunal, observed that at the time the recruitments were made, the NAO, 1999 was not in force.
