PESHAWAR: A two-member bench of Peshawar High Court on Wednesday extended a stay order earlier issued against the alleged shifting of a polytechnic college and funds meant for its establishment from the constituency of former provincial minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain to that of Chief Minister Pervez Khan Khattak.

The bench comprising Justice Yahya Khan Afridi and Justice Haider Ali Khan directed the provincial government to explain why Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act invoked for acquiring land for Ajmal Khattak Polytechnic College at Khattaknama area during the previous government was removed and whether the project was still intact.

The bench issued the directives while hearing a writ petition filed by Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who claimed that the previous provincial government had allocated funds for establishment of the college at Khatakknama in PK-12, his constituency.

Fixes December 4 for next hearing in the case

He alleged that the present provincial government decided to shift the said college to Nowshera in PK-13, the constituency of the chief minister.

The court during previous hearing on Nov 13 had issued a stay order through which the government was stopped from shifting the college till next order.

The bench on Wednesday fixed Dec 3 for next hearing and ordered that till that date the government should not shift the college from its present planned site.

Advocate Haider Nawaz Khattak appeared for the petitioner and contended that in the Annual Development Programme of 2012-12 the provincial government had allocated funds for the project. He said that the government had also invoked Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act so that 40-kanal land could be acquired for construction of the college.

However, he said that the present government decided to shift the project to the constituency of Pervez Khattak.

He claimed that the government had also removed Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act from the said area, which proved that it had decided to abandon the project in PK-12.

He added that the act of the provincial government was illegal.

Mian Iftikhar, who also turned up before the court, said that it was discrimination against the inhabitants of his constituency. He added that there was no justification with the government for shifting of the project.

Meanwhile, after the court proceedings Mian Iftikhar told journalists that the chief minister had vast powers and he could construct even 10 colleges in his constituency, but he had chosen to shift Ajmal Khattak Polytechnic College to his constituency.

He said that the inhabitants of PK-12 had voted for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf but the party forgot the favour extended to it by the voters of this constituency and stabbed them in the back.

He added that instead of launching new projects, the government was shifting the projects launched by the previous government.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2014