KP govt approves ordinance to save PEDO chief

PESHAWAR: Instead of following the court orders, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government has approved an ordinance to save the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) Chief Executive Officer Akbar Ayub from being sacked.

It is also significant to note that those who lecture others to follow the Constitution and law have changed the law instead of obeying the orders of the high court. The provincial cabinet’s meeting was held under the presidency of KPK Chief Minister Pervez Khattak. In this meeting, the Energy and Power Department of KPK had presented a motion to amend subsection  1 of section 5 from the PEDO Act, 1993. This provision is related to laws regarding the appointment of chief executive officer. The department also presented a draft of an ordinance to save the PEDO chief executive Akbar Ayub. The provincial cabinet approved the recommendations. Following the meeting, the ordinance draft was to be sent to the KPK governor for signing.

According to this ordinance, the rules and regulations for the appointment of chief executive officer are being changed. Following the changes, any person having 12 years of experience in business, engineering, finance, accounts, economics, law or power industry will be an eligible candidate for the position of the chief executive officer. Before this recommendation, the position in case required a person with 12 years of education and experience in power and energy. However, Akbar Ayub had a degree in finance due to which the court had removed him from his position.

According to sources, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan wants Akbar Ayub to stay as the chief executive officer. The KP law department had earlier, in a postal message, showed reservation on amending the PEDO Act, 1993.

On June 16, some ministers of the KPK cabinet had also strictly opposed the idea of making amendments in the PEDO Act to protect one person.  It is important to note that the Peshawar High Court (PHC), in the first week of June, had declared the appointment of Akbar Ayub as illegal since February 18, 2015. The PHC had also removed Akbar Ayub from his appointment, adding that the candidate did not have adequate education and experience to hold that position.

Akbar Ayub had taken two-month time from the PHC to file an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The above-mentioned duration ended on August 17, 2017. According to the government’s documents, the KPK law department, in a post on August 2, had shown reservation to make the recommended amendments through an ordinance. The department had mentioned four points in this regard. The law department had mentioned that it was not fair to issue an ordinance to save one person. However, the said department has now approved the amendment following pressure from the provincial government.

According to sources, KP CM Pervez Khattak had, in person, advised to add the PEDO Act amendment as an agenda in the provincial cabinet’s meeting so that an ordinance to make the amendment could be passed immediately.