K-P Health Department is in poor state, says CJ

Appointments in the provincial health department are done through nepotism

PESHAWAR: The top court on Monday expressed concerns over the poor state of the health sector in the province, noting that most recruitments in the department were made based on nepotism.

This was stated as a three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad, heard a petition on transferring a case of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department from the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Chief Justice Ahmad remarked that the situation in the K-P health department is quite bad, noting that several cases about the department are currently being heard in different courts.

CJP Ahmed said that whenever someone is appointed in department, around five cases are filed against them. The court directed the PHC to issue a verdict in the case within three months.

Defamation against PM

Meanwhile, a former leader and ex-MPA of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Fouzia Bibi has filed a petition before the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the delays by a local court in hearing a defamation suit she had filed against incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The petition, filed through Ghufranullah, stated that the PM Imran had ejected her from the party after accusing her of selling her vote during the Senate elections. Such an allegation, Ghufranullah contended, was fake.

The petitioner recalled that she had filed a defamation suit in a local court but it has been pending for over a year now. She cited that under the Defamation Ordinance 2002, a trial court was obligated to conclude defamation suits within three months.

The ex-lawmaker alleged that the prime minister is trying to influence court matters and therefore her application was still pending.

Strike at PHC

Lawyers in Peshawar on Monday boycotted proceedings at the PHC and all sub-ordinate courts for not nominating the PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth for elevation to the Supreme Court (SC).

Owing to the strike, thousands of cases in the courts were adjourned without any proceedings and the litigants returned disappointed without their cases being heard.

Meanwhile, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Bar Association (K-PBA) has announced to extend its strike to other parts of the province on Tuesday.

In this regard, K-PBA Vice-Chairman Shahid Raza Malik contended that the junior judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) have been appointed to the apex court while the PHC chief justice was ignored.

He asserted that such discrimination and the practice of giving precedence to juniors over seniors was unconstitutional.

Govt contractor released

An Additional and District Sessions Judge Liaquat Ali approved the appeal of a convicted government contractor and annulled his year-long prison sentence awarded by a lower court in a bogus cheque case.

The petitioner’s counsel, Attaullah, argued that the Shehzad had filed a case against his client, Nasir Ahmed, on April 20, 2017.

In the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant had asserted that the suspect had given him a bogus cheque worth Rs8.8 million.

The lawyer added that a lower court sentenced Ahmed to a year in prison. However, he had filed an appeal against the verdict in the PHC.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2020.