Martyred law officer: AWKUM directed to grant package as per revised policy

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, (AWKUM) to grant Shaheed Package to the law officer, who had martyred in a bomb explosion in Mardan in 2016, as per the revised policy within two months.

A division bench comprising Justice SM Attique Shah and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah heard the petition filed by Shehla Sani, the widow of the martyred law officer.Ghazanfar Ali advocate appeared for the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Ubaidullah Anwar, Additional Advocate General Nauroz Khan and Arif Firdous from Abdul Wali Khan University appeared before the court.

The lawyer informed the court that the petitioner’s husband, Ilyas Ahmad Jan Sani, was a law officer at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan.He pleaded that he was martyred in the bombing in Mardan courts on October 2, 2016, which also claimed the lives of lawyers and other civilians.

He said that under the revised federal government policy of 2015 concerning martyr packages, the heirs of Ilyas Ahmad were entitled to the same benefits as other employees, who received the package.

However, the university only paid Rs500,000 to the family.The lawyer argued that since a new policy was introduced in 2015, the revised policy applied to these heirs as well, but the university kept the petitioner deprived of her rightful entitlements.

After arguments, the court ruled that the petitioner was entitled to all benefits under the Shaheed Package as per the revised policy.It directed that all payments must be made within two months.