PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court will hear today (Tuesday) a petition of ANP Senator Sitara Ayaz against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission proceedings against her in a case of alleged misuse of authority and corrupt practices, claiming some KPEC officials had been trying to settle personal scores with her.

Sitara Ayaz, former provincial minister for social welfare, had filed the petition few days ago. By that time, warrants for her arrest were not issued by the commission.

A bench consisting of Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Syed Afsar Shah will conduct preliminary hearing into the case.

Barrister Mudassir Ameer will appear for the petitioner.

The petitioner has prayed to the high court to order the quashing of the KPEC proceedings against her.

Sitara Ayaz insists some KPEC officials trying to settle personal scores with her

As interim relief, she has also requested the court to restrain the commission from taking any adverse action against her until the final disposal of the petition.

The petitioner has claimed that the National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had conducted inquires on the same subject matter of the social welfare department for the duration when she was the minister. She added that under the KPES Act 2014 when a federal agency took cognizance of an issue the provincial agency could not interfere in it and thus the KPEC had no authority to proceed into the same issue.

The petitioner said the mandatory notification for setting up the KPEC was issued by the provincial government on Sept 16, 2015, due to which all actions taken and proceedings conducted by the commission prior to that date were illegal and unconstitutional.

The ANP senator has also charged some officials of the KPEC including one of its directors (investigation) with framing her in concocted cases to settle a personal dispute.

She alleged that during her tenure as minister, she had lodged a complaint against a female social welfare officer of sending her threatening SMS following which the woman in question was arrested.

The senator claimed that one of her cousins was appointed to the commission who he was bent upon implicating her in cooked up cases.

Meanwhile, Sitara Ayaz’s sister, Salma Ayaz, who is a district councilor in Swabi, on Monday alleged that an official of the KPEC, retired Colonel Saifullah, had indulged in settling personal vendetta against her sister.

Addressing a news conference here at the Peshawar Press Club, she claimed that as minister her sister had taken action against a social welfare officer, Tahira Naveed, due to allegations of some wrong doings against her. She added that the said officer had to spend few days in prison.

Salma Ayaz alleged that the said social welfare officer had also demanded Rs5 million from her family for ending proceedings against Sitara Ayaz.

She asked whether that was the way of PTI chief Imran Khan to dispensing justice by harassing a woman.

Salma Ayaz said her sister had visited the KPEC director general at his office and she was told that there were allegations against her of misappropriating Rs2-Rs2.5 million.

She added that after issuance of the arrest warrants the commission had leveled allegations of misappropriating Rs1 billion.

Salma Ayaz claimed that officials of the commission had visited the Parliament Lodges and harassed children of Sitara Ayaz.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2015

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