PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday took exception to the denial of ‘shuhada package’ to the family of a schoolteacher, who was killed by militants, and directed the provincial government to offer compensation under the package to the family within 20 days.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Daud Khan ordered the provincial finance and education secretaries to ensure the due payment to the family within 20 days observing action would be taken against them if the order was not followed.

It observed that over a year ago, the high court had issued orders for the provision of shuhada package to the family of schoolteacher Abbas Khan but that order had yet not been complied with.

The bench was hearing a contempt of court petition filed by the widow of the teacher, Maryam Bibi, who said the court had decided a petition filed by her in April 2014 regarding provision of shuhada package to her family.

PHC warns finance, education secretaries of action over non-compliance of order

Fazle Haq Kohdamni, lawyer for the petitioner, said the petitioner’s husband was a teacher at a government school in Mathani area of Peshawar and had received several threats from militants asking him to leave that job.

He said the deceased did not regard threats and continued to teach children.

The lawyer said in 2010, Abbas Khan was killed by militants while he was going to school to perform his duty.

He added that as the government was reluctant to offer the family the shuhada package, the petitioner had approached the court, which ordered the payment of compensation.

The district education officer (Male) Shareef Gul informed the bench that the department had already moved summary for payment of compensation under the shuhada package to the petitioner in accordance with the court’s order and that implementation on the order was underway.

REPLIES SOUGHT: The bench also sought replies from the federal secretaries of finance, establishment and SAFRON (state and frontier region) on a petition of a slain Frontier Corps solider’s widow about provision of enhanced compensation in accordance with a notification issued by the federal government two years ago.

The bench directed the secretaries to explain why they had not been offering the enhanced payment under the shuahada package to the petitioner, Afroze Begum, whose husband had died in an bomb explosion.

Ayesha Malik, lawyer for the petitioner, said her client’s husband, Asghar Ghulam, was a havaldar in FC and was deputed at Wana in South Waziristan Agency.

She said some miscreants had sent a gift to him in the shape of a radio in which explosives were concealed.

The lawyer said when the soldier took the radio home on March 22, 2012, it exploded killing him and his minor son, whereas one of his sons lost both eyes and a daughter one eye in the blast.

She said the government had paid compensation under the shuhada package to the legal heirs applicable at that time which was to the tune of Rs1 million.

The lawyer, however, said in 2013, a notification was issued by the federal government through which the compensation under the shuhada package was enhanced to Rs3 million with retrospective effect to 2001.

She said the petitioner had applied to the government for the enhanced compensation but the latter was reluctant to pay it.

Waseemuddin Khattak, lawyer for the FC, said they were ready to comply with the notification issued by the federal government but so far the government had not released funds to them for payment of the enhanced compensation.

The bench observed that once the government issued notification for payment of the shuhada package at the present rate with retrospective effect, it had to pay it to the legal heirs of the deceased.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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