ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that special assistants and advisers to the prime minister are not members of the cabinet and therefore cannot be part of cabinet proceedings.

“The special assistant to the prime minister is not a minister of state or a federal minister but only enjoys the status for the purposes of perks and privileges. He cannot address the parliament, nor has any executive authority vested in him. He also is not a member of the cabinet and cannot take part in the proceedings of the same,” the IHC stated in its detailed order.

The judgment was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani in a petition file by PML-N lawmaker Barrister Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha challenging the inclusion of Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to PM on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain and Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood in the CCoP.

A detailed decision - 23 pages long - rejected the petition against the appointment of 15 special assistants and IHC Judge Justice Amir Farooq wrote the verdict.

The court further ruled that the total number of advisers to the prime minister should be limited to five.

The court, however, stated that “undoubtedly, on special requests, persons can be called in by the committee but no person can be the chairman or a member of the committee of the cabinet, who is not a member of the cabinet.”