ISLAMABAD: Justice (r) Manzoor Hussain, whose was recently notified as the chairman of the Customs Appellate Tribunal is unlikely to continue on this post, sources said.
The Ministry of Law and Justice had appointed him as Customs Appellate Tribunal chairman, but he had also applied for the post of Member Election Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a decision is about to be made on his application.
Sources told Customs Today that doubts are grown since Justice (r) Manzoor Hussain is being considered as strong candidate for the member post of the Provincial Election Commission. They said that he is highly unlikely to join the tribunal’s office, which does not carry perks and privileges as he will enjoy after appointment in the provincial election commission.
In such situation, the staffers, including the tribunal registrar at Islamabad office, were unclear about the possibilities of tribunal resuming its function immediately. However, they were hopeful that situation would become clear in next week. If the chairman comes and takes charge of the office then the functions would be restores, they said adding that else “we have to wait till Justice (R) Manzoor Hussain’s application for the post of Election Commission member be decided.”
It is pertinent to mention that Ministry of Law and Justice had issued notification of appointment of Justice (R) Manzoor Hussain as chairman of Customs Appellate Tribunal on Wednesday. Notification of appointing Justice (R) Manzoor Hussain as chairman of Customs Appellate Tribunal was issued following the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the summary report of employing Hussain as chairman of Tribunal.
The notification further stated: “The government appoints Mr Justice (retd) Maznoor Hussain as judicial Member-cum-Chairman, Customs appellate Tribunal, Bench-I, Islamabad on contract basis on standard terms and conditions for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, with effect from the date of assumption of charge”.
Justice (r) Manzoor Malik had earlier served as Justice of Peshawar High Court. He got retired from provincial apex court during May, 2015. Justice Hussain retired after serving at the high court for nearly 25 months. Therefore, he was considered a strong candidate for the post of provincial election commission member too.
