PHC reserves verdict in Ehtesab Commission Act case

PESHAWAR: A larger bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) reserved the verdict in writ petitions filed against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act after both sides completed arguments in the case on Monday.
The verdict was reserved by the larger bench headed by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel. It comprised of Justice Nisar Hussain, Justice Irshad Qaiser, Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Mohammad Younas. Around 15 writ petitions were filed by different people, including former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi.
Additional Attorney General Syed Mohammad Atiq Shah told the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was set up in 1999 while in 2010 the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave its verdict in the Asfandyar Wali case that its acts doesn’t affect the provincial autonomy.
He added that a number of sections in the KP Ehtesab Commission Act and NAB ordinance were the same. The counsel added that as it was the responsibility of the state to go after the corruption therefore the NAB law would be more effective.
NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Jamil said the bureau had laws against corruption that were implemented all over the country. If a province has any problem with the laws, he added, it can move the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
He added that hundreds of cases were lodged all over the country under the NAB Ordinance. Sardar Ali Raza argued that under the NAB Ordinance one can voluntarily return the looted amount while there was no such section in the KP Ehtesab Commission Act.
Abdul Latif Yousafzai argued before the court that KP Ehtesab Act was made while keeping in view all the legal requirements. He added that he himself attended four meetings of the select committee.
The court after hearing all the arguments reserved judgment in the case.A former minister in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, Ziaullah Afridi, Director General Mines and Mineral Dr Liaqat Ali, Secretary Industries Sajid Jadoon, a former Tehsil Municipal Officer Noor Daraz Khattak, former provincial minister Liaqat Shabab and others had challenged the KP Ehtesab Act in the Peshawar High Court.
They were all arrested by the KP Ehtesab Commission for alleged corruption and irregularities. However, most of them have now been now released on bail by the court.The court adjourned hearing in the writ petitions filed against the Teaching Hospitals Reforms Act 2015 till Tuesday.