Reply sought in appointments case

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Friday sought reply from the provincial government on a petition seeking appointments against key positions lying vacant at Punjab Information Commission.

A local lawyer filed the petition pleading that the position of the chief information commissioner had been lying vacant for two months in violation of Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013.  

He said it was believed that the provincial government had been suffering from crisis of bad governance and flawed decision making on political grounds. The lawyer stated that many key positions had been lying vacant at Punjab Information Commission, including commissioner(s) information and chief information commissioner blocking the flow of information towards public.

He said transparency of mega projects like Orange Line Metro Train was directly linked with the composition of the Punjab Information Commission.

The petitioner-lawyer requested the court to order the government to fill the vacant positions of chief information commissioner and information commissioners at Punjab Information Commission with veteran professional and competent candidates.

Justice Atir Mahmood heard the arguments and sought a reply from the government within two weeks.