PHC CJ says court has to follow law

APS attack case

Order to stop salaries of officials extended

PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel observed on Tuesday that law is equal for all and the court has to follow the law.

He made the observation while hearing a writ petition seeking the court’s order for making public all the information regarding the December 2014 terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS).

“We understand the sentiments of the parents of the martyred students of the APS, but everything has to be done as per the present law. The law is equal for all,” the chief justice remarked when the petitioner questioned the response of both the federal and provincial governments in the APS carnage to the parents.

The two-member bench comprising the chief justice and Justice Daud Khan extended the court order on stopping the salaries of secretary Home and Tribal Affairs and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to May 18 after Additional Advocate General Umar Farooq Adam said that the reply of the officials concerned in the case would be submitted in a day or two. The court had earlier stopped the salaries of the officials after they failed to submit reply in the petition.

The bench also issued notice to the provincial and federal governments in an application filed by the mothers of the children killed in the APS attack who wanted to make them parties to the petition.During the previous hearing, the court had also termed the federal government reply unsatisfactory and directed it to submit a better and proper reply.