Federal govt asks SC for transfer of dam funds

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday sought the assistance of former attorney generals for Pakistan (AGPs) on the funds collected for the construction of Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams.

A four-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal, heard a seven-year-old suo moto case. The court issued notices to three former AGPs, including Anwar Mansoor Khan and Khalid Javed and Amicus Curiae Makhdoom Ali Khan, for their assistance.

Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman informed the court that the federal government as well as the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had filed a civil miscellaneous application (CMA) seeking the transfer of funds collected for building the dams. He informed the court that under SC’s supervision, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had opened an account for the collection of funds for the construction of Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams. The law officer assured the court that the funds would be utilised for the same purpose.

The chief justice asked about the volume of the amount currently available in the dam fund. Barrister Saad Rasool, counsel for Wapda, told the court that Rs20 billion had been collected for the construction of dams. To another query, the counsel informed the court that the SC, while hearing cases related to disputes between Wapda and other private firms, had taken a suo moto action in 2018. The counsel further submitted that an implementation bench of the apex court in the past had held 17 hearings on the matter.

CJP Qazi Faez Isa, however, expressed concerns and questioned as to whether the SC should monitor the Wapda project, adding that there must be other projects of the authority as well. The CJP remarked that the court could not build dams, adding as to whether the court could maintain the dam funds account. He remarked that it would be decided later on after conducting a hearing on the matter.

The counsel replied that disputes between private parties over the dam construction had also been heard in the Supreme Court rather than in lower courts. The counsel pleaded that the matter should be adjudicated by the relevant judicial forums.

Meanwhile, the court brought on record the implementation report, submitted by Wapda and also issued a notice to AGP with the direction that he should either appear in person or nominate his representative to assist the court. The court held that if felt necessary, a five-member bench would be constituted for hearing the matter and adjourned the hearing for three weeks. In the past, a five-member SC Implementation bench had also formed a special committee, comprising two directors of SBP and an official of SC to look after the affairs related to the dam fund and investment of the amount collected for the dams’ project. Similarly, the court had also appointed two amici curiae (friends of the court) Makhdoom Ali Khan and Dr Pervaiz Hassan to assist it regarding dam fund utilisation.