SC gives govt one day’s time to reinstate Sohail Ahmed

Supreme Court of Pakistan. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday stated it was giving the federal government a day’s time to reinstate Sohail Ahmed to his post of Establishment Secretary and to submit Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s response to its concerns, DawnNews reported.
Mr Ahmed had been relegated by the government from his post to a sinecure post of ‘officer on special duty’ on Tuesday, about two hours after he had submitted to the Supreme Court a notification transferring Hussain Asghar, the IG of Gilgit-Baltistan, back to the Federal Investigation Agency in the face of a stern court warning of immediate action against him on contempt of court charge for not complying with its orders.
Piqued by the unexpected demotion of the top bureaucrat for obeying its orders, the court had on Wednesday directed Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to personally convey to Prime Minister Gilani the court’s feelings and explain constitutional implications of a deviation from the court’s orders.
The AG was required to inform the court on Thursday about his meeting with the prime minister and submit in writing the reaction of the chief executive to the court’s order.
However, the court has given the government a day’s time to reinstate Mr Ahmed and to submit Prime Minister’s Gilani’s response to its directive.