PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday stopped deduction from the salaries of government officials and employees accused of receiving payments under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
The petitions were heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Inamullah Khan. Petitioners’ counsels Aminur Rehman Yousafzai and Umar Farooq and Assistant Director (Legal) of BISP Jamal Abdul Nasir appeared before the court.
The petitioners’ lawyers informed the court that their clients were government employees whose family members had received payments under the BISP. They argued that recoveries had now been initiated and excessive deductions were being made from their monthly salaries to recover the amount.
The lawyers pleaded that most of the affected employees belonged to Class-IV staff. At this point, Justice Ijaz Anwar remarked that even Grade-20 officers had received BISP payments and questioned why only salary deductions were being made instead of initiating departmental proceedings against them.
He also noted that inquiries had previously been conducted against district judiciary officers and employees in similar matters.Assistant Director (Legal) Jamal Abdul Nasir told the court that recoveries were being made from all government employees who had received BISP funds, including employees of the BISF itself.
Justice Ijaz Anwar directed the authorities to submit a comprehensive reply, including complete details regarding the criteria for eligibility under the programme, both before and after any changes, and to clarify who qualified for the scheme.
