PESHAWAR, May 29: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday summoned the additional chief secretary of Fata Civil Secretariat and the political agent of Bajaur Agency over a petition seeking to bring compensation for slain Bajaur Levies personnel on a par with that for police and armed forces.

The petition was filed by Sher Mohammad Khan and other members of the families of 42 slain Bajaur Levies personnel.

During the hearing into the case, a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk issued show cause notice to the additional chief secretary of Fata Civil Secretariat and the political agent of Bajaur Agency asking them to submit separate written replies to the petition.

The bench fixed the next hearing for June 20 directing the two to show up in person.

Akbar Ali Shah, lawyer for the petitioners, said close members of the petitioners’ families were employed in Bajaur Levies.

He said during the last couple of years, personnel of Bajaur Levies were killed in different incidents of terrorism in the tribal agency.

Mr Shah said the administration had provided very nominal compensation to some families whose members, Bajaur Levies personnel, were killed on duty.

He added that while the petitioners continued to request for provision of appropriate compensation, the relevant authorities remained unmoved.

The lawyer said the court had in 2010 taken a suo motu notice of the provision of nominal compensation called ‘Shuhada Package’ to the dead personnel’s families.

He added that on the directives of the Peshawar High Court, a summary was approved by the government last year wherein it was stated that the personnel of Bajaur Levies would be provided ‘Shuhada Package’ on a par with that of police.

Mr Shah said the government had not been implementing that decision by denying the required ‘Shuhada Package’ to them.

According to him, initially, the compensation was fixed at Rs0.3 million each for Bajaur Levies personnel and later on it was enhanced to Rs0.5 million.

However, last year, the bench had directed that reasonable enhancement should be made in the compensation as for the police personnel the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had enhanced the compensation to Rs3 million.