HARIPUR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Council Board on Friday suspended five officers, including the tehsil municipal officer of Khanpur’s tehsil municipal administration, on the charge of skipping duty during Eid days.

It also directed its deputy secretary (M&E) to look into the matter and file the inquiry report within seven days.

Official sources said the action was taken by the board’s secretary on the directions of local bodies minister Arshad Ayub Khan following a surprise visit to the TMA offices after attending the funeral prayer of a supporter in Bandi Muneem area on Friday morning.

A notification read, “The TMA officers were repeatedly asked to ensure disposal of their official duties by not absenting their offices without prior intimation to their seniors, but they failed. They violated the instructions of competent authorities of the department particularly during Eid days which invited public grievances.”

It added that the competent authority suspended TMO Aisha Tahira, tehsil officer (revenue) Faisal Abbasi, tehsil officer (finance/accounts) Amir Khan, tehsil officer (infrastructure) Engineer Mohammad Javed and sub-engineer Mohammad Abbas Jadoon “on administrative grounds and in the best interest of the public.”

The notification also said the board had given the additional charges of the suspended officers to Haripur TMO Gul Naib Khan, TOR Iqbal Hussain, TOF Mudassar Hussain, TOI Waseem Kamran and sub-engineer Noman Khan, and directed deputy secretary (M&E) to probe the allegations against suspended officers and furnish a fact-finding report with recommendation to higher authorities within seven days. When contacted, Engineer Javed confirmed the development and said disciplinary action against absentee officers was ordered by the minister.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2025