Non-compliance with court order: PHC issues arrest warrant for KP’s secretary home, IGP

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday issued bailable arrest warrant for Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for non-compliance with the court's order.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Abdul Shakoor Khan issued the bailable arrest warrant for the top officials of the province after they failed to comply with the court order.

The court issued the order in an appeal by a citizen Fakhr-e-ALam, a teacher at Government Primary School No 2 in Adezai village in Peshawar district.

Javed Akhtar, counsel for the appellant, submitted before the bench that accidently the police had placed the name of the government teacher in Schedule IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2016. He said due to the police decision Fakhr-e-Alam's bank account was sealed and his salary was also not deposited in it since 2016.

The lawyer said the petitioner challenged the act of the respondents including Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs and IGP) in the high court to seek direction for removal of his name form Schedule IV of the ATA.

He submitted that the high court passed an order on May 9, 2017, converting his writ petition into an appeal and transferring it to secretary Home and Tribal Affairs to decide it within 30 days. The lawyer contended that the respondent secretary despite several reminders did not pass any order in the appeal.

On the previous hearing, the court had issued notices to the two respondent officials to submit comments and explain their position as to why they did not comply with the court order.

When the court started hearing the case on Thursday, additional advocate general, Waqar Ahmad informed the bench the he had intimated the court's order to the respondents but they have yet to submit comments in the case.

The court then issued bailable arrest warrant for the IGP and Secretary Home in the case. The additional advocate general said they would appear in the court at the next hearing before securing their bail form the high court for not complying with the court's order.