Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to take immediate action instead of challenging the decision to outlaw the chairmanship and membership of cabinet committees of advisers and special assistants.
Government sources said that following the decision of the Islamabad High Court, Prime Minister Imran Khan terminated the membership of the cabinet committees of two advisers and two special assistants and reconstituted six cabinet committees.
The prime minister removed Razzaq Dawood, a trade adviser, from the post of cabinet committee member, while Dr Ishrat Hussain was also removed from the post of cabinet committee member.
Besides, special assistants Nadeem Babar and Shehzad Arbab were also removed from the post of cabinet committee members.
Trade Adviser Abdul Razzaq Dawood is no longer a member of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC), the Cabinet Committee on Energy, the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Institutions and the Cabinet C-Pack Committee.
Adviser on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain’s ECC membership was also terminated while he was not a member of Cabinet Committee on Privatization, Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms.
Special Assistant Nadeem Babar’s Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms has been disqualified while Special Assistant Establishment Shehzad Arbab’s Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms has been disqualified.
Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has been re-appointed as chairman of the Economic Co-ordination Committee, Cabinet Privatization Committee and Committee on State-Owned Enterprises.
The Cabinet Privatization Committee will consist of 7 members and the Cabinet Committee will be composed of 4 members of state-owned enterprises.
The Prime Minister reconstituted the ECC and the ECC will have 14 members. Similarly, the Prime Minister also reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on C-Pack, which will be chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning and the Cabinet C-Pack Committee 12. Will consist of members.
The Prime Minister also reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on Energy and the Federal Minister for Planning will be the Chairman of the Cabinet Energy Committee, which will consist of nine members.
The Prime Minister also reconstituted the Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms, the Federal Minister for Education was appointed as the Chairman of the Cabinet Institutional Reforms Committee and the Cabinet Institutional Reforms Committee will consist of four members.
It may be recalled that the Islamabad High Court had recently declared the formation of a Cabinet Committee on Privatization illegal and ruled that it was illegal for advisors to head and be members of cabinet committees.