Officer accuses KP govt of harassment

PESHAWAR: Instead of implementing PHC orders, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has harassed a civil servant to withdraw his contempt of court case.

A grade 19 officer has approached the Peshawar High Court against unjust pressures by the KP government and top bureaucrats of the Home Department and the Directorate of Prosecution to withdraw his writ petition. Attaur Rehman has accused the KP government of mental agony and stress. The officer was transferred and posted for third time to a hard area against the transfer and posting policy just to teach him a lesson. Few blue-eyed officers are working on the same posts since long.

Secretary Home Ikramullah has sent a short reply that “I don’t recollect all of the facts, but do know that he was a constant absentee from Hangu”. The district judiciary and common people were constantly complaining about his absence and resultant delay in cases. Therefore he was transferred from District Hangu to Kohistan.

Ex-DG Mines and Mineral Muntazir Khan had already sent a letter to his secretary regarding increasing political interference that forced bureaucrats to resign or become part of the dirty game in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Section 10 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Servant Act 1974, all postings and transfers shall be strictly in public interest and shall not be abused to victimize government servants. According to the ESTA Code that normal tenure of posting shall be three years subject to the condition that for the officials posted in unattractive areas, the tenure shall be two years and for the hard areas, the tenure shall be one year. The unattractive and hard areas will be notified by the government.

According to documents available with The News, the officer has filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court for the implementation of the posting, transfer and placement policy. The PHC passed an order on August 6, 2019 to follow and implement the posting, transfer and placement policy of the provincial government as provided in the ESTA Code in letter and spirit and without discrimination.

But soon after the PHC orders, the directorate of prosecution moved a summary of the said officer to be transferred to a hard area i.e. Kohistan and the competent authority issued transfer orders. It is pertinent to mention here that the officer has served in hard areas of Dir Lower for one year and in Hangu for almost two years. He was transferred to Hangu on March 22, 2018 after filing the petition. He was again targeted and transferred to District Kohistan after the court decision. He has also filed an application in the Peshawar High Court against the KP government and stated that the petitioner filed a COC in the PHC for the posting to hard areas for the third time and without disturbing the longstanding posted officers, which is amount to violation of Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. The petition is fixed for hearing on September 25, 2019.

He said in his application that to frustrate and pressurize him, the top officer of the Prosecution Wing has sent WhatsApp and SMS messages to him to relieve the charge. To harass him, the responsible officers sent two WhatsApp letters one for immediately leaving the charge of his present post and assuming the charge of district public prosecutor Kohistan (lower). On the other hand, he issued another letter whereby the petitioner is relieved from the post as district public prosecutor Hangu, which clearly indicates mala fide on the part the prosecution officers of the directorate.

The officer said he has been forced through telephonic calls by different officers who asked him to withdraw the instant COC, otherwise he will face the music. This unnecessary and unjust pressure is only because the petitioner has filed the petition for uniform implementation of the posting and transfer policy in the directorate. This pressure has badly affected the personality and health of the petitioner and he is now on medication, he said.

He informed the court that he cannot bear all these stresses and high-handedness. His family is also disturbed. Nobody is ready to implement the policy and all have targeted the petitioner. In the given circumstances, the petitioner feels helpless and places himself at the mercy of the court with the request to intervene to direct the government not to harass and pressurize him and submit the implementation report of the court order of August 6, 2019.