The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the removal of Lt. Gen. Munir Afsar from his current post as chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), saying his appointment to the post was “unauthorised” and in violation of Nadra rules.
Lt. Gen. Afsar became the first serving military officer to be appointed as Nadra chairman in October 2023. The appointment was initially made by the caretaker government led by then Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar and later confirmed by the federal government elected in March 2024 for a three-year term.
The petition was filed by citizen Ashba Kamran, who alleged that the appointment of the Speaker was “in violation of the provisions of the Nadra Ordinance, 2000”.
The petitioner added that the appointment does not comply with the “requirement of inviting potential applicants and conducting a fair and competitive process for appointments.”
The petition said the appointments “violate the constitutional principle of equality of citizens and abrogate the fundamental rights guaranteed” and do not comply with “the requirement of conducting a fair and competitive procedure in appointments.”
Justice Asim Hafeez presided over the case today and ruled that Lt. Gen. Afsar’s appointment lacked the requisite “legal authority” and ordered him to be relieved of his duties.
The judgement, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said Nadra chairman’s appointment was an “example of unadvertised direct appointment” and “no qualification-based assessment was carried out” at the time of appointment.
It further said that “appointments made without open recruitment and with competitive deficiencies are contrary to the provisions of Article 18 of the Constitution.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is made clear that appointments to any post under the Government will be made only after due advertisement has been issued inviting applications from eligible candidates,” the judgement order said.
The order further stated that making appointments to government services without advertising, inviting applications from eligible candidates and conducting a proper selection process to ensure that all eligible candidates have a fair opportunity to compete would be in violation of the guarantees provided in Articles 18 and 27 of the Constitution.
“I am of the opinion that the illegal acts committed through unauthorised appointments made by uncommissioned appointing authorities cannot be concealed. An elephant cannot be hidden in a mouse hole,” Justice Hafeez wrote in his judgement.
“Hence, to put an end to usurpation of office, it is necessarily necessary to exercise discretion. In such circumstances, the action of confirming the appointment of respondent No. 6 is unauthorized and contrary to statute.”
The order consequently allowed the petition and declared that the appointment of the current Nadra chairman was made without “authority of law”.
Appointment
Lt Gen Afsar was appointed as Nadra chairman in October 2023 with the approval of the then cabinet ministers after deliberations over three candidates proposed by the Ministry of Interior.
General Afsar was one of 12 major generals promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in October 2022.
He took over as chairman from Asad Rehman Gilani, who took over in June 2023 following the resignation of Tariq Malik.
