LAHORE   -  A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday restored Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar as the Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

The two-member bench suspended the single bench verdict that had declared the appointment of NADRA Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar illegal and issued notices to the parties, seeking their replies.

The bench, comprising Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad, passed the orders while hearing an intra-court appeal filed by the federal government challenging the single bench verdict.

During the proceedings, Advocate Rashidi Nawaz appeared on behalf of the government and argued that the single bench’s verdict, which had declared Afsar’s appointment illegal based on a petition filed by Ashba Kamran, was against the facts. He submitted that the petitioner had challenged the appointment notification issued by the interim government, but she had never challenged the new amended rule.

He contended that the federal government had the authority to carry out the rule-making process under Section 44 of the NADRA Ordinance, 2000, which included the power to amend the rules. He further argued that the chairman’s appointment was made in accordance with Rule 7A of the NADRA (Appointment and Emoluments of Chairman and Members) Rules, 2020, and that when discretion is exercised, there is no obligation to issue a public advertisement or conduct a competitive recruitment process. He urged the bench to overturn the single bench’s verdict and reinstate the NADRA chairman’s appointment. At this, the bench suspended the single bench’s verdict and issued notices to the parties, seeking their replies. A single bench comprising Justice Asim Hafeez had declared the appointment of NADRA’s chairman unlawful on September 6.