LAHORE, Nov 17: Justice Hafiz Tariq Nasim of the Lahore High Court on Monday held that government employees posted in Raiwind were entitled to withdraw big city allowance.

Petitioners Mohammad Shahid Iqbal, Mohammad Rafique and others said they were City District Government of Lahore employees and had been withdrawing the allowance in pursuance of the notification issued on June 29, 2005.

They said the government through a letter dated March 22, 2008, stopped payment of the allowance besides ordering recovery of the money released under this head.

Petitioners’ counsel Malik Ali Gohar said the governor had issued the notification lawfully after Raiwind was declared to be part of Allama Iqbal Town.

Opposing the plea, Assistant Advocate General Naeem Masood said the finance department, after examining the matter thoroughly, directed the city district government to stop paying the allowance. The judge observed the allowance was issued by the governor in exercise of powers under Section 9 (1) of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001, whereas the letter under which the allowance was stopped was issued by the office of accountant general which could not override the notification.

Justice Nasim observed the petitioners had been withdrawing the allowance for considerable period of time, which created a lawful right of the petitioners to withdraw the allowance. The judge added an order of the subordinate officer could not rescind the validly issued notification.

Besides, the judge observed, finance department’s representation confirmed that funds were allocated for the allowance even in 2008.

Justice Nasim declared the letter illegal and without jurisdiction and held that employees were entitled to the allowance till the notification was in field.

PLEA against Chattha: Justice M. Bilal Khan of the Lahore High Court adjourned an election petition against PML-Q MPA Hamid Nasir Chattha till Dec 12 and directed the respondent to file his reply.

Shaukat Hayat Chattha, who lost to Hamid Nasir Chattha at PP-103, Gujranwala, sought disqualification of his rival on the ground that elections were massively rigged.

The petitioner said Hamid’s son Fiaz Chattha, who was district nazim, used state machinery to manipulate election results in his father’s favour.

SUMAIRA MALIK: Justice M Bilal Khan sent back to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) a petition seeking disqualification of PML-Q MNA Sumaira Malik from NA-69, Khushab.

Justice Bilal said due to personal reasons, he would not like to hear the petition and it should be placed before any other election tribunal.

Petitioner Malik Umar Aslam Awan, who lost to Sumaira, said the ECP had changed the results provided by the presiding officers.

He alleged that she managed to get votes cast in her favour by using state machinery at the behest of her husband, who was a bureaucrat.

Awan alleged that seven presiding officers had been abducted by Sumaira’s workers, who were later recovered upon the orders of the returning officer. “Sumaira did her intermediate in 1981, but had not done graduation till 2002.

Her husband, who was the then schools additional secretary, obtained a fake BA degree for her,” he said. She could not have contested the elections because she was a bank defaulter and a petition in this regard was also pending before LHC’s Rawalpindi Bench.