MANSEHRA, May 28: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan has said that instead of the provincial Public Service Commission in future the PHC itself will conduct the examinations for the appointment of judges to the lower courts.

“Now the appointments of the lower courts judges will be made under the supervision of the PHC and people will be appointed on merit through a transparent examination procedure,” said Justice Khan while speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of the Tehsil Bar Association, Oghi, on Saturday.

The PHC chief justice said that he was optimistic that people with modest backgrounds would be inducted in the lower judiciary. “We want to introduce the judiciary, which is above all pressures and hurdles and delivers verdicts on the merit,” he added.

He said that the process to appoint more judges to the lower judiciary was in progress. With the appointment of more judges the number of pending case before the judiciary will be substantially reduced, he said.

“Time is not far when the judiciary will achieve the objectives,” he said.

Referring to the restored judges, Justice Khan said that they had got the opportunity to serve the country and improve the working of the judiciary in accordance with the need of justice. He acknowledged the sacrifices of lawyers, civil society and media for the restoration of the judiciary.

The PHC chief justice said that work on the Oghi judicial complex would be started soon.

The newly-elected Oghi TBA president Nehmatur Rehman, general secretary Mohammad Riaz, vice president Akhtar Shah and joint secretary Amir Khan took oath of their offices on the occasion.

WORK ON POWER PROJECT SUSPENDED: Work on 132 MW Dobair Khawar Hydropower Project has been suspended since Thursday after the labourers demanding raise in their daily wages went on strike.

Last time the work was stopped in August 2010 after five workers, including three Chinese engineers, were killed when an under-construction tunnel was destroyed owing to floods in Kohistan. The work on the project restarted earlier this year.

According to the labourers, they have started the strike after the Wapda officials refused to pay them the wages in accordance with agreement they had signed at the time of their hiring.

In this connection, a jirga was held in Puttan on Saturday, which was also attended by committee of the locals and officials of the Wapda and local administration.

The local elders, including Maulana Dildar and Haji Mirdad, said that the Wapda had been paying Rs530 per day to the skilled workers, Rs440 to semi-skilled workers and Rs350 to unskilled workers, but following restart of the work early this year the authority had decreased the daily wages to Rs250 a day to all the labourers.

They said that if the earlier structure of wages was not restored the labourers would not go to work and in case new labourers were employed from outside the district the move would be resisted.

When contacted, the project in-charge, Mohammad Fiaz, said that the project had suffered a lot in the last year’s floods and now the Wapda could not pay more to the labourers.However, Mr Fiaz said that he would take up the wages issue with the Wapda authorities.