IHC issues contempt notice to science and technology minister over official appointments

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a contempt notice to federal minister for science and technology, Agha Hassan Baloch accusing him and his secretary of knowingly violating a court order. 

IHC has demanded a written response from both the minister and the secretary of science and technology within five days.

The issue arose from the controversial appointment of Mir Ghulam Farooq Langov as the incumbent Director General (DG) of the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Centre (PSQCC). This action was ruled as contempt of court since it deliberately ignored a previous court order.

Earlier in March, the court had nullified the notification of appointment as the DG. Despite this, another joint secretary was installed on March 28 by an office order, and Ghulam Farooq was again given charge of the post by an office order on April 10.

The Islamabad High Court stated that a civil servant cannot be appointed to an MP scale post, and it subsequently nullified the second office order regarding Farooq’s appointment.

The court order highlighted that the power to appoint a DG does not lie with the Ministry of Science and Technology, but rather with the Federal Government.

The appointment was challenged in the high court by Dr. Shehzad Afzal, a senior officer at the ministry.