HARIPUR, June 23: A division bench of the Peshawar High Court on Saturday suspended the appointment orders of 176 class-IV employees of the Schools and Literacy Department, Haripur, and asked the department to submit a detailed report within a fortnight.

The 176 employees had been appointed on June 20, but district nazim Yousaf Ayub Khan had described the process as a breach of the provincial and district governments recruitment policy. He filed a writ petition, challenging the appointments.

He contended that the Haripur education department had violated the provincial government’s recruitment policy and had not consulted the district government in the process.

The applicant also accused the education department of wrongdoing and prayed for declaring the orders invalid.

The court, comprising Justice Talat Qayum Qureshi and Justice Hamid Farooq Durrani, heard arguments from both sides and ordered suspension of the appointment orders.