The Islamabad High Court (IHC) warned on Tuesday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif may be summoned if the appointment of a Member Finance to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) tribunal is not made by May 18.

Hearing a case regarding the non-appointment, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani said: “The prime minister should appear and explain why the appointment has not been made”.

The court also ordered the Law Secretary, Raja Naeem Akbar, and the Cabinet Secretary, Kamran Ali Afzal, to appear before the court.

The Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body established under the Establishment of Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal Act, 2024, which was enacted by amending the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996, and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

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It was designed to serve as the primary appellate forum for telecom and related regulatory disputes. Its core purpose is to provide a specialised, faster, and expert forum for telecom and cyber-related regulatory disputes.

The Tribunal consists of three members: a chairperson who is a former high court judge or senior advocate, a technical expert in ICT or related fields, and a finance expert with relevant professional experience.

During the proceedings, the Assistant Attorney General informed the court that a retired judge had been appointed as a member of the tribunal.

Justice Kayani made strong remarks on the practice of appointing retired judges to such positions, saying they had “caused more damage”. He added that retired judges were overly interested in joining tribunals.

“At night, they remember the salutes and do not let others sleep,” the judge remarked.

“If someone feels like it, they get appointed in the NRC, while others go to some other tribunal,” he added.