By: Kamran Ali Shah
PESHAWAR: A senior lawyer of the Peshawar High Court, Malik Suleman Khan, on Tuesday said that the use of official vehicles by government officials after their duty hours is illegal and unethical.
It was stated by Malik Suleman Khan, an advocate, who has recently instituted a petition in the Peshawar High Court seeking legal action against the officials who used government vehicles after duty hours for personal purposes.
The petition was heard by Justice Waqar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah. The court issued notices to the federal and provincial governments and ordered them to submit their responses within 14 days.
In an exclusive interview with Pakhtun Digital on Tuesday, the petitioner, Mr Suleman Khan, said that he had requested the court to mandate that all government officials refrain from using official vehicles for personal purposes after their duty hours or on weekends.
Video Interview
He highlighted that it is often observed that government officials not only use these vehicles for personal activities but are also seen allowing their children and relatives to drive them. This behaviour, he argued, constitutes a betrayal of public trust and causes damage to the treasury.
“Some officers use official vehicles for wedding ceremonies, consuming government fuel, while their children frequently misuse these vehicles, resulting in damage and wastage of public tax money,” the petitioner elaborated.
Mr Suleman Khan expressed hope that once the federal and provincial governments submit their responses to the court, government officials could be ordered to refrain from using government vehicles for personal work in the future.
This application regarding the misuse of government vehicles has been jointly filed by Noor Al-Basr and Malik Suleman Khan, Advocate, both of whom are petitioners in the case.
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