IHC orders removal of NBP President Arif Usmani, chairman BoD

• Citizens had filed petitions against NBP president, BoG's appointment.
• Petitioners say Usmani does not have a relevant degree in banking and finance.
• Usmani's counsel had argued that NBP had achieved impressive profits under his client's tenure as president.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued orders to remove National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Arif Usmani and the bank's Chairman Board of Directors (BoD) Zubair Soomro.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani announced the verdict Tuesday, which had been reserved by the high court on June 2. The verdict called on authorities to remove with immediate effect, Usmani and Soomro, from their posts.

A petition filed bycitizens Syed Jahangir, Javed Iqbal, Fazal Raheem and Latif Qureshi contended that the NBP president's appointment was contrary to the guidelines of thePublic Sector (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines 2015.

The petitioners had argued that Usmani did not hold a degree in banking and finance while on the contrary, he was had a physics degree. The petitioners had argued thatit made him ineligible for the post of chief executive officer of the NBP for life.

Usmani's counsel had informed the high court during a previous hearing that the NBP had earned impressive profits during his client's tenure as the bank's president.

The court remarked that if a degree has no connection with a field then a judge could also be appointed as a bank head.

Soomro's lawyer, on the other hand, had argued that the petition had been filed on the basis of malafied intentions, adding that the petitioners were not affected by appointments.