PHC stays uplift projects, seeks govt’s response

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued a stay order against various development projects under the District Development Initiative (DDI) Programme across multiple districts and sought a response from the provincial government.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Fazal Subhan and Justice Farah Jamshed, heard the petition challenging the allocation of funds for the DDI scheme.The petition was filed by Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Nisar Baz, Tariq Awan, and Arbab Waseem, who were represented by Sultan Muhammad Khan Advocate.

During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel informed the court that his clients were elected MPAs belonging to the opposition and were being deliberately ignored in the distribution of development funds by the provincial government.

He argued the government was discriminating against opposition constituencies, particularly in districts such as Bajaur, by allocating funds unfairly. This, he contended, amounted to discrimination not only against the opposition lawmakers but also against their constituents.

The counsel stated that the government had already released funds under the DDI scheme, which fell under the umbrella scheme of development projects. Despite issuing tenders for the initiative, the government had excluded opposition lawmakers from the process.The petitioners urged the court to issue a stay order on the DDI scheme, arguing that the “discriminatory” allocation of funds violated the principles of fair governance.