Transfer order: Notices issued to chief secretary, Peshawar DC, among others

Replies also sought from secretaries for ministry of defense, interior, home dept

PESHAWAR: A division bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued notices to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, anti-corruption establishment secretary and Peshawar deputy commissioner on Thursday after anti-corruption establishment Director Ziaullah Toru challenged his transfer order.

The bench, comprising PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Daud Khan, heard a writ petition filed by Toru.

Due to lawyers’ strike, the petitioner appeared before the court himself and said he was appointed as anti-corruption establishment director on April 1 and was transferred and posted as director of Provincial Services Academy on May 2 by the provincial government.

Terming his transfer and posting as based on mala fide intentions, Toru said his services were handed over to the provincial government on deputation from National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He said he took steps to reform the department as the director of anti-corruption establishment. “After assuming charge on April 1, I requested the provincial government to merge my services with those of the department,” he told the bench.

Toru said during the period he remained anti-corruption establishment director, he recovered around Rs1.66 billion and deposited it in the national exchequer. “I was transferred when I started investigation into the Billion Tree Tsunami against the brother of the chief secretary to unearth alleged misappropriation of funds in purchase of saplings,” he said.

He added this indicated mala fide intentions on the part of the respondents and urged the court to suspend his transfer notification.

The bench after hearing his arguments, issued notices to the respondents and sought reply from them till the next hearing.

The same bench also issued notices to secretaries for Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and K-P Home Department with regards to missing peoples’ case.

Hidayatullah Afridi, counsel for Muhammad Jamal told the bench that his petitioner’s son, Muhammad Israr, who was a deputy superintendent at police national volunteer was picked by personnel of the Pakistan Army on April 7 and since then, his whereabouts were unknown.

He pleaded with the bench to order concerned authorities to rescue him.

Similarly, another petitioner, Riaz Khan Khalil, was picked up by the police on February 3, 2012 and has been missing since then.

The bench was told that his family found out Khalil was in the custody of Police Elite Force – a fact that was confirmed but he had not been rescued still.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2016.