PHC puts Nazim, Naib Nazim on notice

Budget approval

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday issued notice to the provincial government and district nazim and naib nazim Peshawar in a writ petition challenging the budget for 2016-17 of the District Council.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan issued notice to secretary Local Government, Nazim and Naib Nazim District Council Peshawar, directing them to reply to the legal questions raised in the petition within 14 days.

The court issued notice in a writ petition filed by opposition members of the District Council, Peshawar, including opposition leader Muhammad Saeed Zahir, and members Safdar Baghi, Razaullah Khan and others filed through their lawyer Muhammad Ayaz Khan and Abdullah Qazi.

During hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer submitted that the nazim and naib nazim passed the budget for 2016-17 in a hurry without a debate and adopting the legal procedure under the law.

The lawyer argued that first the budget was passed against the law and secondly the nazim and naib nazim had allocated 55 percent of the total budget as discretionary fund, which is against the law and interest of public and members of the district council, the public representatives in the council.