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PESHAWAR, June 20: A bench of the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday restrained the provincial government from taking any action against the Lakki Marwat tehsil nazim suspended by the chief minister in a controversy over fixing a plaque at a sports complex.
The bench, comprising Justice Ejazul Hassan and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, also admitted for full hearing a writ petition filed by nazim Faridullah Minakhel challenging his suspension by the chief minister and an inquiry being held against him by the NWFP Local Government Commission.
The court fixed July 6 for next hearing.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the issue over which the nazim had been suspended did not amount to misconduct.
He said the district government had arranged a ceremony on March 8 to inaugurate the newly-constructed sports complex in Lakki Marwat. He said MNA Anwer Kamal Marwat had inaugurated the complex and a plaque carrying his name had been fixed there.
However, he claimed, Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani had ordered the DCO concerned to fix his plaque at the complex and the authorities had done so. He said area people had taken out a protest procession against it and removed the plaque of the chief minister.
After this, he said, the tehsil nazim was suspended and a show-cause notice was served on him for attending an “illegal” meeting held when Salim Saifullah Khan was elected as senator. He said the nazim was also charged with leading a mob towards the office of the DCO.
He said the nazim in his reply had stated that he had pacified the enraged people and gone to the DCO office along with some people to resolve the issue.
Additional advocate-general Arbab Usman said the petition was premature because the nazim had only been suspended for three months and an inquiry against him was in progress. He said the suspension period would end on July 5.
REFUGEE CAMPS: The government will soon announce a schedule to close remaining Afghan refugee camps in various districts of the province, a senior official said.
Speaking at a function held here on Tuesday to mark the World Refugee Day, Afghan refugees commissioner Sahibzada Mohammad Anis said the schedule would be announced in a couple of days to identify districts where refugee camps existed, which would be closed in three years.
The function was jointly organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refuges. Representatives of the UNHCR, NGOs, elders of various camps and Afghan women and children attended the programme.
Mr Anis said a tripartite commission, comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR, had recently signed an agreement in Doha, Qatar, to repatriate the remaining Afghans in Pakistan in three years under the UN voluntary repatriation programme.
Pakistan has the world’s largest refugee population and officials say over three million Afghans are living in the country.
Mr Anis gave an assurance that the government would not force refugees to vacate their camps and would act on the agreement of the tripartite commission. But he said: “Afghans should now realise Pakistan’s economic and internal security problems. Refugees should cooperate with the government and vacate some camps.”
He said Pakistan had been facing many problems due to the prolonged stay of the refugees. Some elements, he said, were misusing the hospitality extended to them and hatching conspiracies against the host country.
