Advisers cannot act as ministers, IHC rules

ISLAMABAD: Appointing an adviser with the status of a minister does not empower the said adviser to act as a minister, notes a recent order passed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

This week, the IHC had heard a petition challenging the appointment of Mirza Shahzad Akbar as adviser and chairman of the Assets Recovery Unit. The petitioner claimed that Akbar was “illegally exercising executive powers” and was allegedly “influencing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other investigating agencies.

While disposing of the case, since the petitioner did not place on record any material to support that Akbar may have interfered with matters falling within the domain of the NAB, the IHC noted that a ‘minister’ is defined under clause (xiii) of rule 2 and it neither includes an ‘adviser’ nor a ‘special assistant’.

“The Rules of 1973 explicitly declare the secretary to be the official head of the division/ministry and responsible for its efficient administration, discipline and proper conduct of business,” reads the judgment.

The president is empowered under the constitution to appoint, on the advice of the prime minister, not more than five advisers. The adviser has the right to speak and take part in parliamentary proceedings, but cannot vote.

Separately, the prime minister is also empowered to appoint a special assistant, but the special assistant in a ministry is “not one of its officials”, the court observed. “An adviser has no role either in policy matters of a ministry nor its execution.”

The court also added that Rule 55 of the Rules of 1973 prescribes guidelines for the communication of official information.

“Rule 55(4) provides that only ministers and secretaries shall act as official spokespersons of the government. The aforementioned rule would be breached if an adviser or an authority not specified therein is authorized to act as an official spokesperson,” the order read.