PESHAWAR, March 25: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday disposed of three identical writ petitions of about 80 general medical practitioners, challenging certain decisions of the provincial health department.

The bench, comprising Justice Khalida Rachied and Justice Qazi Ahsanullah Qureshi, directed the health department to decide within   two months the applications of the petitioners for allowing them prescription of antibiotic drugs to patients.

The petitioners claimed that they had applied to the department in 1990, for allowing them to prescribe antibiotics to the patients,   but despite repeated reminders the department did not decide these applications.

They prayed the court that they should be allowed to prescribe the said drugs to patients.

The health department claimed that the government had to decide  the applications under the General Practitioners Act.

The bench decided that first the said applications should be decided and in case the petitioners had any grievances, they could again move to court.

APPEALS: A two-member bench of the high court commuted the death sentence of an appellant, Manzar Khan, to life imprisonment.

The bench, comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Shehzad Akber Khan, dismissed the appeals of the two brothers of Manzar, Ahmad Ali and Shad Ali, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in the same case.

The three appellants had killed one Muslim Khan in Rustam, Mardan district, on June 10, 1998.

They were sentenced by the district and sessions judge, Mardan, on June 13, 2001. Manzar Khan was sentenced to death, whereas the remaining two accused were sentenced to life.