PHC declines govt official plea against NAB

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday refused to accept a plea of a government official who had challenged in his personal capacity the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman’s notification and claimed that it was a clear interference in the administrative affairs of the provincial government.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah stated in the decision that it was the duty of provincial government to challenge the notification if government felt that the NAB was interfering in administrative affairs of the province.

However, the court disposed of the writ petition of secretary Environment and former secretary Forest, Syed Nazar Hussain Shah after the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the court that the inquiry against the secretary environment had been closed.

During hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Asghar Khan Kundi informed the bench that the NAB chairman and DG addressed a letter in an illegal manner to him on December 29, 2015, wherein he was informed of the formation of the ‘Prevention Committee on Forest Sector’ for looking into affairs of his department.

He pointed out that interestingly the NAB chairman had taken full control of the Forest Department through the formation of the Prevention Committee as the department would be required to take permission of the NAB even for tree plantation and posting and transfers. 

However, the NAB Deputy Prosecutor General, Muhammad Jamil Khan, opposed the plea of the government official. He informed the bench that under the law an official had no right to challenge the notification but the provincial government could do that.

When the chief justice asked additional advocate general as to why the provincial government had not challenged the notification, he replied it had given comments and termed the notification a direct interference in the affairs of the government.

However, he said, the provincial government did not challenge through a separate writ petition. The court told the law officer it could not pass an order in the government official petition in this regard and the provincial government could file writ petition if it wanted to challenge the notification.

The NAB deputy prosecutor general, however, said the bureau had closed its inquiry against the official about the allotment of illegal plots, encroachments as former director general of Galiyat Development Authority (GDA).

Earlier, the court had suspended the NAB’s call-up notice to the secretary Environment. It had directed the NAB chairman and its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa director general to submit reply to a petition by Syed Nazar Hussain Shah. The petitioner had claimed he had constantly been harassed by the NAB.

He had also challenged the formation of ‘Prevention Committee on Forest Sector’ by the NAB in November, 2015 and requested the court to declare the entity illegal and its establishment interference in the affairs of the province.