PESHAWAR, Jan 24: The Peshawar High Court’s Mingora bench (Darul Qaza) on Thursday stopped the Chitral deputy commissioner from constructing a house near the runway of Chitral Airport.

Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel of a single-member bench suspended an order of the Chitral district and sessions judge, who allowed DC Rehmatullah Wazir on Dec 11 to continue with the construction of the house.

He admitted the CAA petition against the said construction to full hearing and issued notices to the respondents, including the DC.

While suspending the district judge’s impugned order, the bench restored the Dec 8 order of the senior civil judge to restrain the DC (the then district coordination officer) from continuing with the construction of the house.

In the said order, Mr Wazir was asked to get a no objection certificate from Civil Aviation Authority for the said construction work.

The controversy surfaced in June last year after Mr Wazir began building a house near the runway amid CAA claims that the activity was happening in the danger zone against the law.

CAA later issued a notice to the DC, who challenged it in the court of senior civil judge in Chitral.

However, the judge declined to issue a stay order against the notice and instead stopped him from continuing with the construction until the final disposal of his civil suit.

Mr Wazir challenged the judge’s interim order in the court of the district and sessions judge, who suspended the said order on Dec 11.

However, CAA moved Darul Qaza against it.

On Thursday, Mian Shafaqat Jan, lawyer for CAA, told the court that the suspension of the interim order of the senior civil judge by the district and sessions judge was entirely against the law as DC was bent on construction of his house in the danger zone of the Chitral Airport in violation of Rule 68 of Civil Aviation Rules, 1994.

He said after the DC began construction work in the danger zone, many people followed suit that was not only violated the rules but also threatened to flight safety.