ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday took suo moto notice into the appointment of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s son-in-law as country’s Executive Director in the World Bank in Washington.
The suo moto notice was taken over the media reports. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali has also been constituted to hear the matter on December 19.
Earlier, the PM’s son-in-law Raja Azeemul Haq was serving as an additional secretary in the PM Secretariat.
According to media reports, the PM appointed his son-in-law to the post by using his discretionary powers. The PM had approved the summary for appointment despite resistance shown by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who tried to convince the PM to change his decision. The finance minister had told the PM that his son-in-law was “junior” for such an important position.
Economic Affairs Division EAD, the department which was asked to formally move the summary by the PM’s Principal Secretary Ayub Qazi, had also opposed the move. The department had suggested that a headhunting committee or selection board should be formulated under the Establishment Division to select a suitable candidate.