PESHAWAR, March 4: Instead of protecting people’s rights and ensuring justice to the weaker sections of the society, some judicial officers have illegally occupied a residential quarter of the principal of a government girls’ school in Mingora, Swat.
Pakistan People’s Party MPA Noor Sahar raised the issue regarding illegal occupation of residential quarter in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday. Through a call attention notice the MPA said that four judicial officers had occupied the official house of the principal of government girls’ high school No. 1 Saidu Sharif.
She said that the judicial officers had refused to vacate the house and even ignored directives of the deputy commissioner and officials of the education department. The lawmaker said the judicial officers had also warned the local administration to take legal action if they (local authorities) intervened into the matter.
She said judiciary was supposed to protect fundamental rights of the people and provide justice to the aggrieved party, but some judicial officers in Swat had deprived a female education officer of her accommodation.
Replying to the call attention notice, minister for elementary and secondary education Sardar Hussain Babak admitted that some judicial officers had forcefully occupied residential quarter of the principal. He expressed helplessness to take action against the officers.
He said that district authorities had requested these officers to vacate the quarter but they declined to do so. “Judiciary is so powerful and nobody can take action against these officers,” he replied when Speaker Kiramatullah Khan Chagharmatti asked why the department failed to take action against these officers from the principal’s house. The speaker directed the minister to bring the issue into the notice of the chief justice of Peshawar High Court and request him to get the quarter vacated.
Meanwhile, the house referred a privilege motion of MPA Mufti Kifayatullah to the concerned committee. The member complained that political administration and security forces had recently stopped him from addressing Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F workers in Sadda, Kurram Agency. He said that political authorities not only blocked his movement but also misbehaved with him.
BILLS: Government introduced five bills in the farewell session of the assembly that started here on Monday. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial Statistics Bill, 2013, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Order) Bill, 2013; The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minimum Wages Bill, 2013; The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Regulation Bill, 2013; and The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2013, were introduced in the House.
The bill regarding press, newspapers, news agencies and books regulation proposed that the declaration of the newspaper once authenticated, shall not be transferred to anyone by the publisher, except his family members which shall includes his father, mother, wife, brother, sister, son and daughter.
The bill says that no person who has not attained the age of 18 years shall be permitted to make a declaration under section 6, nor shall any such person edit a newspaper. Section 6 of the bill says that each publisher or owner of the newspaper, while applying for a declaration of a periodical, will declare on affidavit that he will pay salaries to his employees as per the Wage Board Award.