PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday issued a stay order stopping the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government from acting upon the recent recommendation of the provincial ombudsman to stop the Peshawar Development Authority officers from exercising their functions after declaring the PDA an illegal entity.

It also stopped the defence ministry from taking disciplinary action against the PDA director general, Mohammad Saleem Hassan Wattoo, on the recommendation of the ombudsman, who claimed that the DG, an employee of the defence min-istry, who is on deputation with the provincial government, was guilty of maladministration and misconduct.

The bench was hearing a petition jointly filed on behalf of the PDA and its DG, Saleem Wattoo, challenging the findings and recommendations of the provincial ombudsman`s secretariat sent to the government on July 14 and a letter sent to the defence ministry on July 14 by the ombudsman asking the ministry to act against the petitioner, Saleem Wattoo.

The court put on notice the respondents, including the provincial ombudsman, Consultant-I Ombudsman Secretariat and the registrar of the provincial ombudsman, asking them to file replies to the petition.

In its recommendations, the ombudsman said the defunct PDA was no more a legal entity after 2002 and the status of CDMD (City Development and Municipal Department) had become questionable after therepeal of the KP Local Government Ordinance, 2001.

Tariq Khan Afridi, lawyer for the petitioners, said in 1875, the Peshawar Metropolitan Authority was set up under the Urban Planning Ordinance 1975 and in 1976, it had become PDA.

He added that in 1978, the NWFP Urban Planning Ordinance was promulgated through which existing local authorities including PDA were saved.

Mr Afridi said through the NWFP Local Government Ordinance 2001, the CDMD was notified with all financial administrative powers of PDA, but through a notification on Jan 9, 2009, the nomenclature was again changed to the PDA.

He claimed that the ombudsman had begun pressuring the petitioner, Saleem Wattoo, when the latter had declined to shift the accounts of PDA to a bank where his (ombudsman`s) son was employed.

The lawyer added that in May2016, a letter was issued to the petitioner by a consultant in the ombudsman secretariat and was asked to show how PDA continued to function despite repeal of the Local Government Ordinance 1978.

He added that a reply was sent to the ombudsman explaining legal justification for existence and functions of PDA and also pointed out that inquiry undertaken by Ombudsman was outside his jurisdiction.

The lawyer added that the ombudsman secretariat had informed that the tone of the said reply was contemptuous and had started contempt proceedings against the PDA DG.

He said the contempt notice and the inquiry were challenged last year before the high court.

The lawyer added that on Feb 1, 2017, the court had set aside the said contempt notice but directed the petitioner, the PDA DG, to supply relevant information to the respondents including the ombudsman.