Female educationist Durre Shahwar wants to quit the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and serve in Punjab due to the attitude of KP Elementary and Secondary Education Secretary, Joudat Ayaz.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Durre Shahwar said, “The KP government, especially its education secretary, is bent upon the victimisation and character assassination of employees.”
Hailing from Peshawar, Durre Shahwar is a senior female educationist working on an administrative post for the previous decade. She has worked as deputy district education officer during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and the Awami National Party (ANP)-led coalition. No complaint or allegation was reported against her during the period.
Durre Shahwar said that on May 2, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA-elect from PK-3 Peshawar, Javed Nasim made a complaint against her to the provincial election commissioner, alleging that she was working for ANP candidate Haroon Bilour. Durre Shahwar was transferred on May 9 and her services were placed at the disposal of the Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education in the caretaker setup.
However, Peshawar District and Sessions Judge Shaibar Khan, had termed Nasim’s complaint baseless and had discarded it. The judge had stated that, “Polling personnel have been appointed by the Polling Personnel Management Unit using a software which picks the names of polling personnel at random. This is a unique system which was appreciated by observers of the European Union (EU) during their visit to Peshawar district. The transparency of appointment of polling personnel is beyond the board and the complaint appears to be based on the sole perception of the complainant.”
Meanwhile, in response to a petition filed by Durre Shahwar, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) through a short order on May 23, declared the order for the removal of Durre Shahwar from her office null and void, stating, “ As the Supreme Court (SC) has declared through a short order that all appointments/transfers/postings made by the caretaker government in the federation or in the provinces are void ab initio, null and void and without lawful authority, therefore, instead of pursuing this matter, the petitioner shall get a copy of the said order and produce the same before respondents/authorities, asking them to act upon the same and restore her to her previous position.”
However, instead of the honoring the PHC’s decision, KP Education Secretary Joudat Ayaz justified his act by saying, “The SC’s judgment has exempted those transfers and postings which relate to day-to-day business of the government and are required to be made in the interest of the state,” and ordered Durre Shahwar’s transfer to Buner district through a notification on July 25.
Durre Shahwar has now taken her case to the KP Services Tribunal, pleading against the unlawful actions of Ayaz, who is a personal friend of PTI Chariman Imran Khan.
