PHC halts notification on transfer of official

ABBOTTABAD Peshawar High Court Circuit’ Abbottabad Bench on Wednesday suspended the notification issued by secretary Climate Change, Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Department to transfer a forest range officer and declared it as a sheer violation of notification of Election Commission of Pakistan and provincial government which had already banned the postings and.

Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Ijaz Khan declared the order as a violation of notification of Election Commission of Pakistan and provincial government which had already banned the posting and transfers.

The court provided interim relief to the petitioner Khursheed Khan Forest Range officer and sought comments from Secretary Climate Change, Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Department and Chief Conservator Forest CSFR-I Peshawar within two weeks.

The writ petition was filed by Khursheed Khan through Najeebullah Advocate in which Chief Secretary KP, Secretary Climate Change, Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Department, Chief Conservator Forest Peshawar and others were made respondents.

The petitioner stated that he has been working in the Forest Department as forest range officer Ghazi in Haripur district. Despite a ban imposed by ECP and the government of KP on all kinds of postings and transfers during the interim period, he was unlawfully transferred, he added. The petitioner claimed that he is going to retire from service after three months by attaining the age of 60 years and filed a departmental appeal against the orders.