PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has temporarily suspended the transfer of a deputy director (technical) of the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) to Urban Areas Development Authority (UADA), Bannu, by the provincial secretary, local government.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Inamullah Khan issued notices to the respondents, including the chief minister as the PDA chairman, the chief secretary, PDA’s director general and secretary local government, seeking their comments within a fortnight to a petition filed by the transferred deputy director Mohammad Sohail Feroz.

The bench directed that till the next hearing, the impugned order issued on June 4, 2026, should remain suspended.

The petitioner has requested the court to set aside and declare as illegal and void the impugned order issued by the secretary, local government.

Mohammad Azim Afridi Advocate appeared for the petitioner and stated that his client was presently holding the post of deputy director (technical) in the PDA. He stated that the PDA was a statutory authority established under section 3 of the PDA Act, 2017.

He said that the said Act governed all affairs of the authority, including appointments, as provided under section 8 thereof. Furthermore, he said that the existing employees of the authority were statutorily regularised under section 49 of the Act.

The counsel stated that the authority had framed the PDA Employees (Appointment Terms and Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2024.

He stated that according to Regulation No 31, all employees were liable to serve on any equivalent post within their cadre anywhere in the PDA; thus, the power of posting and transfer of the employees was exclusively vested in the authority.

Mr Afridi contended that notwithstanding the said statutory framework, the secretary local government/chairman of the defunct Provincial Urban Development Board (PUDB) issued the impugned notification whereby the services of the petitioner were transferred to UADA, Bannu against the post of deputy director (technical).

He argued that the said notification was without lawful authority and contrary to the clear mandate of the Act, as the power relating to posting and transfer of employees of the PDA vested exclusively in the authority.

He added that the petitioner was not treated in accordance with law as he had been transferred and posted outside the PDA jurisdiction.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026