PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the transfer order of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) deputy director (Technical) Sohail Feroz and sought responses from the relevant authorities.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Inamullah Khan heard the writ petition.During the proceedings, the petitioner counsel Azeem Afridi advocate informed the court that his client was serving as Deputy Director Technical in the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA). However, on June 4, 2026, the secretary Local Government and Rural Development transferred him as DD (Technical) to the Urban Area Development Authority, Bannu, despite lacking the legal authority to do so.
He argued that under the rules framed in 2017, PDA employees can only be transferred within the authority itself, and any such transfer must be made to a position corresponding to the officer’s grade. He stated that the authority to transfer PDA employees rested solely with the Director General (DG) PDA. By transferring the petitioner outside the PDA, the secretary Local Government exceeded his jurisdiction.
He further submitted that the transfer would adversely affect the petitioner’s service rights, seniority, and future career prospects. According to the applicable rules, transfers of PDA officers must be carried out by the DG PDA and only within the PDA framework, not to other development authorities.
The lawyer contended that the secretary Local Government was merely a member of the PDA Board and was not the competent authority to issue transfer orders for PDA officers. He also pointed out that such an action could create additional administrative complications for the petitioner in the future, including further transfers inconsistent with the governing rules.
The lawyer prayed the court to declare the June 4, 2026 notification void and without lawful authority.After hearing the preliminary arguments, the bench suspended the petitioner’s transfer order and issued notices to the secretary Local Government and other relevant officials, directing them to submit their replies.
