Appointment of PTA Chairman Challenged in High Court

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At a time when Information Memorandum for 3G auction is about to get released and auction for next generation licenses is just around the edge, the appointment of Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Dr. Ismail Shah has been challenged in the Islamabad High Court.
Petition comes from Mr. Nasim Arshad Rana through his counsel Barrister Gohal Ali contending that appointment of Dr. Ismail Shah was against PTA’s act.
Not to mention, Mr. Nasim Arshad was also contesting for the chairmanship of PTA, which was bestowed to Dr. Ismail Shah when Supreme Court had directed the government to appoint chairman at earliest to urgently peruse the auction of next-gen licenses in the country.
In his petition, Mr. Nasim Arshad Rana cited Federation of Pakistan, Secretary Establishment, and Chairman PTA as respondents.

Petition argued that chairman PTA could not be appointed without appointing the required numbers of members of PTA.
It maybe recalled that Member Technical wasn’t appointed when Dr. Ismail Shah was made the chairman. In fact the slot for member technical is still vacant.
The counsel maintained that this appointment is also against the directions of Supreme Court since the apex court had instructed to appoint the heads of all semi-government organisations through a competent commission.
Therefore, the petition, prayed the court to declare the appointment of Chairman PTA as null and void.