LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday reinstated Lt Gen Munir Afsar as chairman of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) after suspending the single-bench’s ruling.
A two-member bench of the high court, headed by Justice Chaudhry Iqbal, heard the petition against the single bench’s verdict.
During the hearing, the court inquired about which notification regarding appointment of the NADRA chairman was challenged in the petition heard by the single bench.
In response, the government lawyer stated that the petition challenged the notification regarding the appointment of the NADRA chairman by the caretaker government. He argued that the petitioner had never challenged the new rules.
After considering the government lawyer’s arguments, the court has suspended the decision of the one-member bench that had declared the appointment of NADRA chairman null and void.
Last week, LHC’s Justice Asim Hafeez had declared the appointment null and void while hearing a petition challenging the appointment of the NADRA chairman.
The petition argued that the caretaker government approved the appointment of a serving army officer by amending the NADRA law, and that the caretaker government should not interfere in permanent policy matters.
In October 2023, the caretaker federal government had approved the appointment of Lt Gen Mohammad Munir Afsar as NADRA chairman.
The serving general had replaced Asad Rehman Gilani as chairman of the authority, responsible for issuing identity cards and other related documents to Pakistani citizens.
Before his appointment as Nadra chairman, he was serving as Inspector General Communication & Information Technology, (IG C&IT). He belongs to 16 Punjab Regiment and 81 PMA Long Course.
Lt Gen Afsar, who is also recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), was promoted to the three-star rank, in October 2022.
