Matters of accountability: PHC suspends Nowshera EDO’s order

Officer had asked guards to buy weapons with own funds

PESHAWAR: A division bench of the Peshawar High Court has suspended the orders of Nowshera’s executive district officer (EDO) for education on Friday. As per the orders, security guards and Class-IV employees would be required to purchase weapons out of their own pockets to provide security at schools.

The bench, headed by judge Waqar Ahmad Seth, heard a writ petition filed by Insafuddin, a security guard of Daag Ismailkhel Girls Primary School in Peshawar, through his counsel Asif Khan.

According to the counsel, the petitioner was appointed as a security guard at the school. Through a notice issued earlier this year, the EDO had asked security guards and Class-IV employees across the district to purchase weapons for security of schools from own funds. They were also directed to perform duties round-the-clock and told that they would be held responsible if even a single student was injured in a terrorist attack.

The counsel said the notice was against human rights as all government servants – including security guards – are bound by law to perform duties for eight hours every day.

He said it was the state’s responsibility to provide security to schools and guards could not be held accountable for any untoward incident.

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