SC summons Saad in LDA City case tomorrow

LAHORE: A three judge Supreme Court bench on Thursday sought personal appearance of Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique to explain his position whether he had any link with the Paragon City developer which is one of the partners in under-construction LDA City housing scheme.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar was hearing a suo motu notice into alleged corruption committed in the housing project.

The court also sought personal appearance of National Accountability Bureau investigating officer who is probing into the LDA-City affairs The chief justice had questioned the legality of the projected launched by Lahore Development Authority under public-private partnership.

As the hearing resumed, Brig (retd) Majeed Riaz appeared before the apex court. The chief justice, however, remarked that the court had summoned the owner. “Who won the contract for the Urban Developers and on which model was the LDA City project planned?” the chief justice asked. Riaz told the court that Tahir Javed was given the contract.

Earlier, LDA DG Zahid Akhtar Zaman furnished the record of six companies engaged by the LDA for the project and names of their owners/shareholders. The companies include Millennium Land Developers, Urban Developers, Paragon City, Alfa Estate, Pak Estate and Maymar Housing Service.

He also presented a comprehensive report on the rules of the authority, which allowed it to enter into a contract with private companies for the acquisition of land. Chief Justice Nisar was eager to know the names of Paragon City’s shareholders, observing that there had been a common impression in public that PML-N leader Saad owned the entity. However, his name was not found in the record presented by the LDA DG.

Thereafter, the chief justice directed Saad to appear in person tomorrow (Saturday) to explain whether this impression was correct. Separately, the chief Justice directed Punjab IGP Arif Nawaz to conduct an inquiry against Bahawalpur RPO Raja Riffat on the charges of misusing his powers.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court was hearing a matter against a company M/s Everest Pharmaceuticals involved in spurious medicine business. Pursuant to the court’s order, a team comprising NAB, FIA and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had sealed the company and arrested its owner Muhammad Usman who happened to be brother in-law of RPO Riffat.

The police officer was accused of misusing his office to hamper the course of law to protect Usman. Chief Justice Nisar observed that several FIRs were registered against the DRAP officials, while the NAB also issued summons to them soon after the action taken against the pharmaceutical company.

He pointed out that even the federal health secretary also conceded before the court that the state was totally failed to control said company. “Who has been causing this harassment to the government institutions?” the chief justice questioned the IGP.

“We get disconnected from our immediate family,” CJP Nisar said, referring to the judges of the superior courts. How a public servant could think of obstructing the process of law, he further asked the police chief.

The IGP promised that the officer was not involved in extending harassment to any other department or misusing his authority. However, he said there must be an inquiry into the allegations.

The chief justice ordered the IGP to get an inquiry and submit a report by March 12, when the hearing would be resumed at the Islamabad seat. The chief justice abstained from issuing any direct order for the suspension of Riffat, letting the IGP to decide whether an officer under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court should be allowed to work.