PHC serves contempt notices on energy secretary, other officials.

PESHAWAR -- The Peshawar High Court has issued notices to the federal energy secretary and three other officials seeking their formal response to a contempt petition against them for replacing the chief executive officer of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company despite a stay order.

A bench consisting of Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Ijaz Anwar issued the order after holding a preliminary hearing into the petition of the recently-removed Pesco CEO, Gul Nabi Syed.

The petitioner said on Jan 12, a high court bench sought comments from the secretary and director-general of the ministry for energy (power division) on his petition besides ordering them to maintain status quo on the matter.

He, however, said chief engineer of the Islamabad Electric Company Arif Mehmood Sadozai got himself posted as the Pesco chief through a notification by the government the same day.

Pesco's ex-chief challenged his removal despite stay order

The bench adjourned the hearing until Jan 26 and directed members of his staff to fix the case along with the main petition.

The respondents in the petition are Mr Sadozai, DG to the minister for energy (power division) Ghulam Rasool Dumki, secretary of the energy ministry (power division) Rashid Mehmood Langrial and section officer of the ministry Mohammad Hassan Khan.

The petitioner in his main petition had claimed that the federal government had moved a summary for installing the chief engineer of Iesco, Arif Mehmood Sadozai of Dera Ismail Khan district, as Pesco's chief on political grounds.

He had requested the court to declare the move of the government to replace him as illegal.

A bench of the high court had fixed Jan 26 for the next hearing into the petition and directed the energy ministry (power division) to maintain status quo on the matter until then.

However, the same day the energy ministry issued a notification assigning Mr...