|
25 officers of five depts. get the sack
March 16, 2012
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has sacked 25 officers of five departments on charges of corruption and misuse of power. The anti-corruption department has sacked 12 officers of Revenue Department, four officers of Livestock Department, five officers of Education Department and four officers of PDA. The anti-corruption department started investigation against these officers on public complaints and found them guilty. After investigations, 24 cases were registered against these officers and they were fired. The notification of their sacking has been sent to the departments concerned. The anti-corruption department has also ordered the recovery of a total of Rs2 million.
On the other hand, the government has decided to merge 65 percent ad hoc relief into the salaries of government employees in the coming budget. The government has started contacting the associations of employees in this regard. It has taken All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), Secretariat Employees Union, Teachers Association, Professors Association and other Grade-4 employees on board in this regard. All ministries and employee unions are being contacted separately by the government to give them relief. The KP government has decided to increase 50% of house rent and 100% of pensions and directed the Finance Ministry to provide full report in this regard. According to the provincial finance ministry, the relief would be almost double the salaries.
The provincial government has also decided to get the services of women police for operations in tribal areas. In this connection, the federal government has decided to hire women police force in Levies and Khasadar forces and announced vacancies but not even a single woman has applied so far. FATA Secretariat has requested the provincial government to get the services of ladies police on deputation so that they were posted in tribal areas.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to register a treason case against Dr Shakeel Afridi for helping Americans in tracing out Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad. According to reports, after keeping him in custody for several months, the federal government has asked the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to register an FIR against Dr Shakeel Afridi under 40 FCR. The law states that three basic rights are not applicable to the residents of FATA: the right to appeal detention, the right to legal representation and the right to present reasoned evidence.
The FCR has its origins in laws enacted by the British Raj in the Pushtoon-inhabited tribal areas in the Northwest of British India. The government has decided to charge Doctor Shakeel Afridi with treason. The US government is pressurizing the Pakistani government to release him and send him to US. It also passed a resolution to give him US nationality for help in tracing out OBL. The Government of Pakistan has, however, refused to release him on the request of US government.
Same time, the provincial cabinet, in its 45th meeting, has asked the Centre to take the provinces into confidence while legislating on the issue of absorption of federal government employees in the provincial government departments after the passage of 18th Amendment. Chaired by Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti, the cabinet thoroughly discussed the shifting of federal government employees to the province after the devolution of different departments, said Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain while addressing a press conference. The meeting decided that unless the position and seniority of these employees was determined they will not be entitled to deputation allowance.
The cabinet also directed its committee constituted on the subject to ask the Centre to determine the status of these employees and the matter would also be taken up in the meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI). The chief minister thanked the leaders of all political parties for their cooperation in the smooth conduct of Senate polls. He said it was a welcome development that all parties had got their due share which they deserved on the basis of strength of their representatives in the provincial assembly. The cabinet also took up the issue of cancelation of plots allotted by Galliyat Development Authority (GDA) during the year 1990. In 1996, the government cancelled the allotment of 13 plots on the grounds that rules were not followed while making allotment. In 1999, allotment of 44 more plots was cancelled on the same grounds. However, some allottees requested the government to return them plots at the market price.
During the meeting, it was decided that a committee would be constituted under the supervision of member SMBR which will evaluate the prices of these plots and allotment would be made to the allottees at the market price. The cabinet meeting upheld its earlier decision of spending five percent of royalty on oil and gas in those districts where deposits are recovered. It was decided that all schemes under this amount should not be less than Rs1 million so that people witness the utilization of amount in their respective areas.
In another development the names of 10 judicial officers and senior lawyers have been finalized for appointment as the Peshawar High Court judges. The list would be sent to the Judicial Commission by the end of the current month (March) after consultations with Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Justice Dost Muhammad Khan. After the commission’s approval they would be appointed judges for one year. Sources told weekly Pulse that security agencies had already cleared the names included in the list. They said at present 10 posts were vacant in Peshawar High Court after the elevation of former chief justice PHC Justice Tariq Pervez to the Supreme Court. One senior judge, Justice Shah Jahan Khan, has tendered his resignation, while another Judge Justice Jahanzeb Rahim was removed from service. Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan also issued directions for setting up mobile courts for speedy dispensation of justice in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for which arrangements are being finalized.
|