Govt removes Hafeez Shaikh from new NFC

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has removed Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from the new National Finance Commission (NFC) and submitted a new notification in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The IHC on Wednesday disposed of the petition pertaining to formation of National Finance Commission (NFC) after the attorney general produced a new notification. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted hearing into a petition against NFC filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khurram Dastagir. Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan told the IHC bench that the government had withdrawn the notification, which had been challenged before this court.

He said a new notification had been issued in this regard and prayed to the court to dispose of the case as it had become ineffective. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh had not been included in new NFC in accordance with new notification, he said. Dastagir's lawyer Barrister Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha said that his client's objection was that the opposition was not consulted in formation of NFC. The court, subsequently, disposed of the case.