PESHAWAR, Jan 20: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday summoned the executive district officer (health), Dir Lower, in a writ petition of a female medical technician alleging that the provincial health minister had transferred her on political basis.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel fixed Jan 25 for the next hearing with the directives that the EDO should appear in person along with the relevant record.

The petition is filed by a health technician, Hidayat Begum, stating that she belonged to Dir Lower district whereas on the directives of the health minister the concerned EDO had transferring her to Dir Upper, which was far from her hometown.

Due to boycott of lawyers, husband of the petitioner, Hidayatullah Khan, appeared in person and stated that they belonged to a political family and they had been pressurised by the members of the PPP to join the party in the district.

He added that since they had not been accepting their demand, the provincial minister, who is also the provincial chief of the PPP, issued directives to the EDO to transfer his wife.

An official of the district health department appeared before the court and conceded that the EDO had to transfer her on the directives of the minister.

The bench observed that if a secretary, a director general, EDO or any other officer acted on directives of the minister instead of following the relevant rules, why they should not collect salary from the minister.

It was added that they were not his private employees and if they continued to do so they were not government servants.

The bench decided to summon the EDO to explain why he transferred the petitioner on the directives of the minister.

Meanwhile, the boycott of lawyers continued in all the courts for the third consecutive day on Thursday against the kidnapping of lawyers for ransom.

The members of Peshawar High Court Bar Association and Peshawar District Bar Association mostly stayed away from courts and staged a protest demonstration.