Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday reversed its decision and restored appointment of Lieutenant General Munir Afsar as NADRA chairman.
Attorney General on behalf of the federal government had challenged the verdict of a single member bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) that earlier nullified the Lieutenant General Munir Afsar’s appointment as NADRA chairman.
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A two-member bench of LHC headed by Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal took up the plea and nullified the single member bench’s verdict.
The court has issued notices to the respondents for their response in the case.
Earlier on September 6, A citizen, Ashba Kamran, had challenged the appointment of Lt Gen Munir Afsar as the chairman Nadra in a petition, which was approved by the LHC.
The petitioner argued that the caretaker government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar had amended the NADRA Act to allow the appointment of a serving military officer as chairman, which was beyond the caretaker government’s mandate.
The petitioner requested the court to nullify the amended NADRA rules and declare the appointment of a serving military officer to the post as Chairman NADRA as null and void.
Remember that, the caretaker federal government approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar as National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman in October, 2023, following a summary submitted by the Ministry of Interior with three recommended candidates. A notification issued after the decision confirmed that Afsar’s appointment would take effect immediately.
Lt Gen Muhammad Munir Afsar became the first serving military officer to be appointed chairman of the NADRA.
In his role as a lieutenant general, Munir has had held prominent positions, including Inspector General of Communication and IT and Commander of the Pakistan Army Cyber Command.
