Govt barred from taking coercive action against PA official.

KARACHI -- The Sindh High Court has allowed the special secretary of the Sindh Assembly to continue to perform his services till Feb 7 after he filed a petition against his suspension.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro also directed the petitioner to cooperate with inquiry officer and restrained the respondents from taking coercive action against him till the next hearing.

The petitioner, Mohammad Khan Rind, impugned the legality of his suspension order issued on Jan 21 and issuance of subsequent charge sheet, inter alia, on the ground that he cannot be penalised for writing a letter to the auditor general of Pakistan asking him to conduct the forensic audit of the secretariat of the provincial assembly about misappropriation of over Rs581 million of funds in various heads of budget.

The lawyer for the petitioner, Ali Asadullah Bullo, argued that the petitioner had also invited the attention of provincial police officer to lodge an FIR about missing official vehicles of the secretariat of the Sindh Assembly.

The counsel further contended that there were various discrepancies in the appointments made in the secretariat and other illegalities committed by the officials in connivance with high-ups and thus...