Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday censured the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over its failure to deliver despite making tall claims regarding good governance and development in the province.

Hearing a suo motu case at the Supreme Court’s Peshawar registry, the CJP ordered KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to appear before the court and explain reasons behind his government’s shortcomings. “I visited Lady Reading Hospital earlier in the day but observed no improvement in the state of affairs there,” he told Khattak, as the latter appeared before the three-member bench.

The CJP observed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)government has been making tall claims since assuming power in the province. “How many new hospitals and schools have been built during the last five years of your government, which is not a short amount of time,” he asked Khattak. “Do you know what the population of Peshawar is? And how much waste is flowing into its streams?” he asked the chief minister, who remained silent in response. “It is your duty to satisfy the public, which you failed to do,” he remarked.”The slogan of ‘honour the vote’ is being raised by political leaders, but the real honour lies in serving the public,” he added.

The chief minister tried to defend his government’s performance, saying the structure of schools and hospitals was in a shambles when he took over and that the things had since improved. “You would have seen how bad the situation was if you had visited four years ago,” he told the CJP, adding that the results of his administration’s efforts in health and education sectors will become visible after four to five years.

However, the CJP appeared unconvinced, saying he has had to face ‘hopelessness’ from every side. He said he was well aware that things were being cleaned up in Peshawar a week in advance of his visit.

Earlier in the day, the top judge grilled provincial officials over the steps taken to ensure that clean drinking water was available to citizens. “Which canal are you throwing Peshawar’s waste into?” he asked KP Chief Secretary Azam Khan, before asking why no dumping ground existed in the city for the purpose.

The CJP took the chief secretary to task when he informed the court that sewage water was being dumped into canals and rivers. “You say everything is good here … where is your good governance?” he asked.

The CJP also heard a case about exorbitant fees charged by private medical colleges in the province. The administration of Al-Razi Medical College informed the court that the students were being charged Rs 800,000 fee per year. However, a student present at the hearing informed the court that he was being charged Rs1.2 million and presented receipts to corroborate his claim. At this, the CJP ordered the college to return the extra fees charged to students immediately. He also ordered authorities to seize the college’s records and freeze its assets.

Later, he visited Al-Razi Medical College where he interacted with students and examined the facilities.”Tell [me] honestly how much fees you have paid?” he asked a class of medical students. “You don’t need to be afraid at any time, no one can expel you [from this college],” he had assured the students.

Meanwhile, the parents of some children who had perished in the Army Public School attack in December 2014 appeared before the SC. Emotional scenes were witnessed when the parents informed the court that their ‘generations had ended with their children’s death’ but they had yet to receive justice over the tragedy. The CJP sought one week’s time to seek the government’s response. The court subsequently issued notices to the federal and provincial governments to file their replies in the case.

While hearing a separate case about deployment of security personnel in the province, the CJP ordered that all additional security protocol granted to unrelated persons in all provinces be withdrawn. The order was issued after KP Inspector General Salahud din Mehsood informed the court that as many as 3,000 security personnel were currently deployed for ‘personal security’ throughout the province.”Those who possess everything can also arrange their own security,” the CJP remarked.

Published in Daily Times, April 20^th 2018.