Court summons K-P minister accused of slapping govt official

Peshawar High Court tells Ayyub Ashari to appear in person on April 12.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has summoned a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister for allegedly abusing and slapping an official of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and Provincial Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

Awami National Party’s Ayyub Ashari, the provincial minister for science and technology, allegedly slapped complainant Sanaullah, a forest conservator who is working as a project director for the Early Recovery of Agriculture and Livelihood Programme, for refusing to oblige a person the minister had asked him to.

On Wednesday, Sanaullah told the court that on February 25, the minister called him at his office, instructing him to talk to responsible officials in Swat and give some fruit plants to another person.

Sanaullah said he then contacted an official at Mingora and, inquiring about the person the minister had referred, told the official to give him fruit plants if he was deserving of it.

The minister called again but Sanaullah missed it as he had stepped out of office for Zuhr prayers. At 4pm on February 25, the minister barged into Sanaullah’s office along with an assistant and reportedly abused Sanaullah and slapped him across the face.

“Have you approached senior officials of your department?” PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan asked.

Sanaullah responded in the affirmative, saying he had told his seniors about the incident in writing and had also sent an email to the PDMA director general.

“The minister crossed limits by abusing and violating oath of office. He should be put on notice for a comprehensive reply and to appear before the court in person on April 12,” the chief justice ordered.

Ashari is already facing a party-level inquiry into allegations of his clash with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Education Minister Sardar Babak.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2012.