PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court started contempt of court proceedings against federal interior secretary and two other officials on Tuesday and attached their salaries for non-implementation of the court orders about redeployment of several platoons of Frontier Constabulary (FC) to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from other parts of the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Abdul Lateef Khan framed the charge against the three officials – federal interior secretary Khwaja Mohammad Siddique, senior joint secretary interior Akhter Jan Wazir and section officer Rana Irfanul Haq – under the Contempt of Court Ordinance and fixed April 11 for further hearing with the direction that the officials should appear in person.

The bench directed the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) to immediately attach salaries of the officials and their monthly salaries should not be released till further orders.

During previous hearing on March 13 the court had given final warning to the officials, ordering that them to come up with positive development. The bench observed that on Nov 6, 2012, the high court had disposed of a writ petition filed by the provincial government through the home secretary and in the light of an undertaking given by an official of the interior division the court had ordered to redeploy the platoons within two months. This order was subsequently followed by several other orders passed on Jan 10, Jan 31, Feb 19 and March 13.

The bench observed that in view of the consistent highly contemptuous and negative attitude of the interior ministry, including the secretary interior and other officials, in this case the court was left with no other option, but to proceed under the contempt of court law.

The bench observed that the officials had committed contempt of this court, which was punishable under Section 5 and 6 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance read with Article 204 of the Constitution.

Earlier, Akhter Jan Wazir informed the court that they had sent letters to the administrations in Sindh, Islamabad and Gilgit Baltistan, asking them to surrender the FC platoons deputed there so that the same could be redeployed in KP.

When the bench inquired how much more time was required for this purpose, the official could not give a definite reply. The chief justice observed that they had been using delaying tactics and making a mockery of the court orders.

The official said that the FC was one of the seven civil armed forces under the federal government and annually a budget of Rs6.7 billion had been allocated to it. He added that the FC could be posted anywhere in the country by the federal government.

The bench observed that the official had now been arguing the case whereas last year they had given undertaking that sizeable number of platoons would be returned to the KP.

The court recalled that the officials concerned had told the court that a high level meeting was held on Oct 22 in Islamabad under the chairmanship of secretary interior, which besides others was also attended by FC commandant and KP home secretary. In that meeting it was agreed that the current law and order situation in KP required enhanced deployment of FC to strengthen the provincial government.

The chief justice observed that the law and order situation in the province was precarious. He observed that the FC personnel were deputed on VIP duties instead of performing their original task of defending the buffer zone between the province and tribal areas. He observed that the government had turned this effective force ineffective by deputing it on VIP duties.

Advocate Umer Zafran appeared for the FC and contended that the constabulary was under the supervision of interior division and whatever orders they received from it they had to follow it.

Additional advocate general Naveed Akhter stated that despite repeated requests by the KP government the federal government remained unmoved, which had resulted in aggravating law and order situation in the province.