May 09, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429

LAKKI MARWAT, May 8: The acting district nazim has locked horns with the provincial government over the transfer of three local officials of Schools and Literacy Department.

The routine matters of the Education Department have come to a standstill as the transferred officials have reportedly stuck to their posts following the orders of acting district nazim while new comers are still waiting to take over charge of duty in the district.

“The provincial government has transferred district officer Noor Hasan Khan, deputy district officer Ismatullah Khan and executive district officer Mir Azam Khan of Education Department from the district. Mohammad Ayub Khan, Haji Sanaullah Khan and Mohammad Khan were respectively told to replace them by issuing three separate notifications on April 29 and 30 and May 3,” sources said.

They said the nazim was not happy with the transfer orders and termed them contradiction of the Local Government System Ordinance.

“The transferred officers have neither completed their tenure nor they have been declared inefficient in performance of duty besides the consent of the district nazim has not been obtained by the quarters concerned of the provincial government before issuing the orders.

The en bloc transfers have also created an administrative vacuum in the department”, sources said quoting an official letter addressed to Schools and Literacy Department secretary by Lakki acting district nazim.

Sources said that the nazim held the transfer orders in abeyance and sent copy of his letter to NWFP chief minister requesting him to intervene into the matter and cancel the transfer orders of officials.

“The district coordination officer has also been directed not to entertain the transfer orders until the issue is settled between provincial and district governments,” they maintained.

“Following the orders of district nazim the transferred officials instead of relinquishing charge of their offices are continuing work while the newly posted officials have also arrived in the district to assume their new responsibilities,” sources further said.

They told this scribe that the provincial minister for schools and literacy took a serious notice of the situation and directed the district coordination officer to implement the transfer orders issued on the approval of chief minister. They said that the row over transfers had created complications in the smooth running of the official business of Schools And Literacy Department in the district.

The tussle between the district nazim and the provincial government might take an ugly turn in the coming days if the issue was not tackled with wisdom, tolerance and mutual understanding, sources said, adding that a tug-of-war between district and provincial government on such minor issues would also hamper the developmental activities in the backward district.