14 judicial officials suspended in KP

PESHAWAR: Under a decision made by the administrative committee of the Pesha­war High Court (PHC) on Wed­nesday, 14 judicial officers, including a district and sessions judge and seven additional district and sessions judges, have been suspended and served show cause notices for allegedly violating disciplinary law.

According to a press release issued by the PHC’s registrar, the action has been taken under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Govern­ment Servants (Efficiency and Disciplinary) Rules 2011.

The committee has not disclosed specific charges against the officials or what sort of irregularities they were allegedly involved in.

The suspended officials include district and sessions judge Sardar Muhammad Irshad and additional district and sessions judges Malik Amjad Raheem, Amjad Makhdoom, Riffat Aamir, Mohsin Ali Turk, Qaiser Rahim and Manzoor Qadir. All were working as officers on special duty (OSD). The list also includes Abdul Hakim Hashmi, additional district and sessions judge at Shabqadar, Charsadda.

The remaining suspended officials include six senior civil judges and two civil judges. The suspended senior civil judges are: Safir Qaiser Malik, serving in Dir Lower; Adil Akber Khan, an OSD; Rashid Rauf, working in Dir Upper; and Shah Hussain, an OSD.

The suspended civil judges-cum-judicial magistrates are: Johar Ijaz Ali Shah, serving as acting senior civil judge at Tor Ghar, and Tasawar Hussain, an OSD.

Soon after taking oath of his office in Dec 2016, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi had held meetings with all district and sessions judges and representatives of all bar associations and warned that no irregularity on the part of a judicial official would be tolerated.

Source: Dawn