Deepening differences: Dispute between Balakot administration and judiciary takes new turn

Judges refuse to appear before enquiry committee, term it unconstitutional.

BALAKOT:

The ongoing tussle between the Balakot tehsil administration and judiciary took a new turn when two judges termed the formation of an enquiry committee by the provincial government against the constitution and refused to appear before it.

Balakot police registered a criminal case against civil judge Islamuddin Khan on April 1 on the complaint of Balakot Assistant Commissioner (AC) Muhammad Ali Asghar. The complainant accused the civil judge of assaulting and injuring him physically.

Asghar took up the plea that the civil judge was forcibly encroaching upon municipal committee land to put up a shed as a parking lot. The AC claimed that when he attempted to prevent Islamuddin from doing so, the judicial officer attacked him with the help of three of his staff members.

The accused then obtained bail before arrest from the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Balakot Ahmed Sultan Khan. On the other hand, one of the accused, Mushtaq, through a written complaint filed with Sultan, registered a case against Asghar and accused him of similar charges.

Following the incident, lawyers across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) went on strike for a few days. On the other hand, revenue officers and the police put their weight behind the executive officer, refusing to appear before any judge for court proceedings. The district police chief verbally ordered all constables and head constables, deployed on court duties as security staff of judges, to report back to the police lines.

However, when the matter was brought to the notice of judge Ahmed Sultan Khan, he ordered security staff to continue their duty, further intensifying the conflict with the district police officer, who stopped the salaries of police personnel deployed in Balakot courts for non-compliance.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court chief justice took notice of the situation and K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak ordered an enquiry into the dispute, asking K-P local government secretary and Swabi District Judge, Aiman Zia Khan to probe the matter.

According to official sources, the enquiry committee called the civil judge and additional judge to Swabi for an enquiry, which infuriated the two judges.

Through a 14-point statement sent to the provincial government and the enquiry committee, the judges raised an objection on the formation of a committee and its powers to call them for an enquiry.

They also termed it a violation of Article 203 of the constitution and said the lower judiciary was answerable to the high court rather than the government. Following this objection, it is likely that the enquiry process will face further delay.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2014.