Staff Reporter
The Sindh High Court has warned the chief secretary and others of stern action if the appointment of the chairman of the Sindh Textbook Board (STBB) was not made within 15 days. A two-judge bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar put the chief secretary on notice with a direction to file a compliance report till March 19. On March 20, 2018, the SHC had directed the chief secretary and education secretary to appoint the chairman and members of the STBB within one month. Advocate Haider Imam Rizvi, the lawyer for applicant/intervener, submitted that despite the lapse of around two years, the respondents failed to comply with the order and pleaded to initiate contempt proceedings against them. When the matter came up for hearing before the bench, the secretary of the school education and literacy department, Khalid Hyder Shah, appeared in court and filed an explanation. The additional secretary of the services, general administration and coordination department (SGA&CD), Zaman Narejo, was also in attendance. The bench stated in the order that after hearing the lawyers for petitioner and applicant, additional advocate general, Sindh, school education secretary and the additional secretary at considerable length, it was of the clear view that the order passed on March 20, 2018 had not been complied with by the chief secretary and education secretary. The bench was assured that the order would be complied with in letter and spirit by appointing the STB chairman within 15 days and that a copy of the notification would be placed before it on the next date of hearing. The court made it clear that stern action would be taken not only against the school education secretary and additional secretary-SGA&CD, but also against the Sindh chief secretary in case of non-compliance of the directives. The court issued a notice to the chief secretary for March 19 to file a compliance report. The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Wednesday informed an SHC division bench that it was ready to extend technical facilitation to provincial authorities about the issuance of domiciles and permanent residence certificates (PRCs). Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan and others had filed a petition against the issuance of domiciles and PRCs to the people not residing in Karachi and sought formulation of a policy with regard to the issuance of the two important documents.
