PHC asks KP govt to submit NAB report

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has directed the provincial government to submit the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s inquiry report about irregularities in the appointments of more than 3,000 teachers in the Working Folks Grammar Schools.

A division bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Lal Jan Khattak passed the order on a writ petition of 37 teachers including Irfanullah of the Working Folks Grammar Schools through their lawyer Zartaj Anwar, seeking orders for the release of their salaries and their regularisation. The schools are run by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Workers Welfare Board (WWB).

The court also restrained the government from any adverse action against the petitioners till disposal of the petition, as the petitioners claimed to have been cleared by the NAB in the inquiry about irregularities in appointments of the teachers.

Justice Ikramullah observed that the court would now decide the case after going through the NAB inquiry report.

Zartaj Anwar submitted that the NAB had already taken action against officials of the Board involved in irregularities in the appointments. However, he said the petitioners were among 655 teachers cleared by the NAB inquiry.

He informed the bench that the provincial government had appointed the petitioners in January 2013. He said the WWB had stopped their salaries for the last one year, and it also did not regularise them.

Additional Advocate General Rabnawaz Khan submitted that the appointments were made in the previous ANP-PPP-led coalition government and NAB had filed cases against the officials involved in the case.

The bench also put on notice the WWB and provincial government for not giving salaries to the petitioners. The case was adjourned to August 30.