PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday sought a response from the provincial government on the appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Bannu.
A two-member bench of the PHC comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed heard the writ petition filed by Associate Professor Jahangir Khan.The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Javed Ghani, informed the court that the KP Education Department had invited applications for chairmanship positions of various educational boards.
Jahangir Khan had applied through proper departmental channels.
A search and scrutiny committee, headed by the provincial education minister, conducted interviews of several candidates. The committee, after evaluation, recommended Jahangir Khan’s name at serial number one in the merit list and forwarded the summary to the chief minister for approval.
However, the summary was reportedly withdrawn under political pressure, and the name of a candidate, who was not initially approved by the panel, was added.This candidate, Sifatullah, was later placed at number four on the panel list, whereas other boards only submitted a panel of three candidates for each post.
The counsel argued that his client had previously served as the controller of the Technical Board and had performed duties competently. Based on merit, the committee had recommended him for appointment as chairman.
Despite this, the controlling authority returned the summary, insisting on the inclusion of Sifatullah’s name, even though the Establishment Department had raised objections.The revised summary with Sifatullah’s name was approved by the chief minister.
The counsel stated that bypassing the original committee’s recommendations amounted to an injustice to the educational system. He argued that if a selection had to be made from the panel, it should have been among the three recommended candidates, not someone who wasn’t even part of the original list.
He requested the court to annul the notification issued on May 13 and direct the authorities to appoint the petitioner as chairman in accordance with the committee’s original recommendation.
Meanwhile, the PHC issued contempt of court notices to the Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Deputy Commissioner of Upper Dir in a case related to illegal glacier cutting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Waqar Ahmad.During the hearing, petitioner Advocate Tariq Afghan appeared before the court and informed that illegal cutting of glaciers was still ongoing despite the court’s orders.
He claimed that the Dir deputy commissioner had failed to ensure the implementation of judicial directives.The EPA director general and the Dir deputy commissioner are thus in contempt of court, and action should be taken against them, he argued.
The petitioner stated that glacier ice is being commercially harvested and sold in markets.He mentioned that the court had ordered on May 6 that glacier ice in hilly regions of Dir, Swat, Buner, and Mansehra should not be used for commercial purposes and had imposed a ban on glacier cutting.
Despite this, glacier ice is still being extracted, often from the base of glaciers. As temperatures rise, these glaciers melt, increasing the risk of floods.Tariq Afghan, who hails from the affected region, warned that melting glaciers contribute to flood risks, with glacier ice being transported to areas like Mardan during summer for commercial use. He emphasized that such practices violate the Environmental Protection Acts of 1997 and 2014.