PHC restrains Ehtesab Commission from arresting 9 officials

Insaf Seeds Programme embezzlement

PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench restrained the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) from arrest and harassment of former director general (DG) Agriculture Extension Department and eight deputy directors in inquiry and investigation regarding embezzlement in the Insaf Seed Programme.

A single bench headed by Justice Younas Thaheem issued the restraining order in the writ petition filed by former DG Agriculture Extension Department Qayash Khan and eight other deputy directors requesting it not to arrest them during inquiry of the case.

The petitioner’s lawyer Waseemuddin Khattak said the petitioners were appointed on the posts in 2015 to distribute free seeds to farmers under the Insaf Seeds Programme.At the start of the programme, he said one sack of seeds were provided to the farmers possessing three acres of land and later the government also allowed the department to provide free seeds to the farmers owning 12 acres of land. The lawyer informed the bench that after a few days the government withdrew its notification regarding provision of free seeds to landowners owning 12 acres of land.

However, he said the approval of the minutes of the last meeting regarding withdrawing order about provision of free seeds to landowners owning 12 acres of land was not taken and the districts were not informed about the decision.

Currently, he said the KPEC has started inquiry against the petitioners with a claim that massive embezzlement has been recorded in the seeds distribution.  He informed the court that it was proved from the record that 92 percent farmers possessing three acres of land benefited from the programme. Besides, he said only eight percent farmers owning 12 acres of land could benefit from it due to non-issuance of notification about withdrawing the order for issuing free seeds to landowners with 12 acres of land. The court issued the restraining order and sought reply from KPEC before the next hearing in the case.