IHC orders charge of NIRC Chairman to be given to senior member

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th May, 2026) The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Federal government to give the charge of Chairman of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) to the senior member of the commission until a permanent chairman is appointed.

A single bench of Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan heard a petition filed by Umer Baloch regarding the non-appointment of the NIRC Chairman. Additional Attorney General Rashid Hafeez and the petitioners' counsel Shoaib Shaheen appeared before the court.

The Additional Attorney General informed the court that the summary for the appointment of the NIRC Chairman had been forwarded and the matter was under consideration.

He requested the court to grant two weeks' time for the appointment.

The court remarked that the position had been vacant since May 1, and now two more weeks were being sought.

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Justice Khan inquired why the summary did not state that the senior member should be given the charge of acting chairman until a new appointment was made.

Shoaib Shaheen argued that without a chairman, benches could not be constituted and the NIRC had become non-functional. He informed the court that workers' cases from across Pakistan are pending before the NIRC, and the lack of a chairman and members was a serious issue.

The IHC directed the government to give the charge of acting chairman to the senior member of NIRC by Monday and adjourned further proceedings until then.

The position of NIRC Chairman has remained vacant since Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui retired and resigned from the post.