PESHAWAR, Sept 7: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday introduced a bill in the provincial assembly to reinstate officials almost 15 years after termination of their services by the Nawaz Sharif government.

Law and parliamentary affairs minister Arshad Abdullah moved ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sacked Employees (Appointment) Bill, 2012’ to provide relief to around 5,000 sacked government employees by restoring their service.

These employees were removed on the grounds that their appointments were made for political reasons.

“I proudly introduce this bill in the House to facilitate thousands of families in the province,” said the minister, introducing the proposed law on behalf of Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti.

The bill is meant to provide relief to the sacked employees, who were appointed on regular basis to a civil post in the province and possessed the prescribed qualification and experience required for the said post from November 1, 1993 to November 30, 1996 and were dismissed, removed or terminated from the service between November 1, 1996 and December 31, 1998 on various grounds.

The bill said the federal government had given relief to the sacked employees, while the provincial government had decided to appoint sacked employees on a regular basis in the public interest.

According to the proposed law, the sacked employees will be appointed against 30 per cent of available vacancies in the said department. However, appointment of sacked employees will be subject to medical fitness and verification of their character antecedents to the satisfaction of the relevant competent authority. These employees if restored will not be entitled to claim seniority and other back benefits.

“A sacked employee may file an application to the relevant department within a period of six months from the date of commencement of this act for his appointment in the said department,” he said.

The assembly passed ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Rescue Service Bill, 2012’ with 11 amendments, while ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apprenticeship (Amendment) Bill, 2012’ was also introduced.

Speaking on a call attention notice, information and transport minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said Khyber Road had been closed down to public transport due to security reasons. He said the army had stopped entry of wagons and buses on Khyber Road from Rehman Baba intersection to Gora Qabristan around six months ago.

“Now, entry of cabs and rickshaws to the area has been restricted to the great inconvenience of citizens,” he said.

Mr Hussain said the road, one of the busiest, had provincial assembly, courts, Civil Secretariat, lodges for judges, a police station, residences of the corps commander and other security installations on it.

The minister said terrorists had already targeted courts, a five-star hotel, intelligence agency’s headquarters and American Consulate located on the road therefore the administration did not take risk. He said the situation was not normal and government had to take some unpopular decisions in public interest.

MPA Javed Abbasi demanded that the government give hard area allowance to employees, especially teachers in far-flung areas of Abbottabad district.

He said the government was already giving hard area allowances to its employees in other remote districts.

Minister Arshad Abdullah said the proposal would be discussed with the finance department, while the government was likely to favour employees, who performed duty in remote areas of Abbottabad.