PHC suspends termination order of BISE Mardan chairman

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday suspended the dismissal order of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Mardan chairman and sought a reply from the relevant authorities.

A two-member bench consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the writ petition of BISE Mardan Chairman Farid Khattak filed through Khalid Rahman Advocate.

During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner, told the court that his client was a grade 19 officer and had been serving in the Education Department for the past 30 years. He said Farid Khattak was appointed as the chairman of the BISE Mardan for two years. He said that under the law, the appointment of the chairman was made for four years, but he was appointed for two years. He said Farid Khattak had been serving as chairman BISE Mardan since September 2022, but the caretaker provincial government dismissed him on February 28 without any reason and ordered him to report to the relevant department just two days before the expiry end of his tenure.

Khalid Rehman said that the notification about the termination of his client was illegal and unconstitutional as the petitioner had not completed his two-year term.The lawyer pointed out that the Supreme Court had declared in the case of PMLN leader Khawaja Asif that the caretakers were supposed to run day-to-day affairs of the government and not to interfere in policy matters. He said that since the petitioner was appointed by the elected government and that too for two years, so how could the caretakers remove him two days before the completion of his tenure.

He said his client had implemented reforms in the education board and was dismissed without any reason. He requested the court to declare the notification illegal.He said there was no charge against Farid Khattak and it was violation of the Constitution to remove an officer from office without any reason. The court suspended the notification about dismissal of the official in question and adjourned the hearing while seeking a reply from the relevant authorities.