The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera to be reinstated to the post of federal tax ombudsman.
Declaring the law ministry notification for his removal null and void, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah ordered Sukhera’s reinstatement with immediate effect.
“The petition is allowed and consequently the impugned notification, dated 12-06-2019, is hereby set aside,” read the verdict. “The impugned notification was illegal and definitely issued in violation of the scheme of the Constitution, the Ordinance of 2000 read with the Act of 2013,” it added.
Sukhera had been appointed in August 2018 by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for a period of four years. The law ministry had removed him from his post in June this year. The move, however, was challenged in the IHC. The high court, on June 14, had issued a stay against the government’s decision.
According to reports, Sukhera’s involvement in Lahore’s Model Town incident, in which over a dozen people were killed, had prompted his removal from the position. Last year, an anti-terrorism court had indicted Sukhera and 115 other police officials in connection with their alleged role in the June 2014 tragedy in Lahore’s Model Town. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had also prepared a reference against him for his alleged failure to avert the tragedy.
