Plea against delay in road construction: LHC CJ chides additional secy over failure to answer queries

LAHORE:Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan Wednesday chided an additional secretary for not assisting the court properly and summoned the Communication & Works secretary.

Justice Khan was hearing a petition against inordinate delay in construction of Narowal-Shakargarh Road. On court’s notice, C&W additional secretary appeared before the court but failed to satisfy it as to when the project would be completed. The CJ admonished the additional secretary for using 8-10 men to carry his files and remarked neither he knew about the case nor he had any answer to the court's queries. “Whether people would use helicopters to travel to Narowal? Once the road is constructed, it is never maintained,” the CJ remarked, asking the additional secretary to travel to Narowal at once and submit a report regarding maintenance work done on it. At the end, the chief justice directed the C&W secretary to appear before the court on the next date of hearing. The Shakargarh Bar Association has filed a petition, pleading that Narowal- Shakargarh Road had deteriorated rapidly but its construction project had not been completed so far despite its inauguration in the tenure of PML-N government. The next hearing of the case would be fixed by the LHC registrar office.

Ex-official’s remand extended: An accountability court on Wednesday extended judicial remand of former SSP Junaid Arshad until August 21, an accused of assets beyond means. The jail authorities didn’t produce the accused before the court due to corona situation. The charges are likely to be framed against former SSP on next hearing. The NAB has accused former police officer of accumulating wealth worth millions of rupees particularly between 2002 and 2008. Junaid is also facing a case of cybercrime in which the FIA has accused him of uploading obscene pictures of his former wife. According to FIA, the accused was an absconder in a case filed against him in 2017. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had ordered then secretary interior to arrest the police officer in cybercrime and two other cases.

MNA’s plea disposed of: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the Lahore High Court that inquiry against PML-N MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha into allegations of assets beyond means was at preliminary stage and his arrest was not required by the bureau so far.

In a reply submitted by NAB special prosecutor, he stated that law did not allow arresting petitioner at this stage. He further said that it was up to sweet will of Ranjha to abstain or appear before bureau investigation team at its office.

Bench headed by Justice Ch Shehram Sarwar disposed of the petition in the light of NAB’s reply. Ranjha through a counsel stated that the NAB had been issuing call-up notices to him in the impugned inquiry. He said the petitioner made several requests to the bureau in writing to furnish him details of the complaint and allegations against him, however, nothing had been provided to him.

The counsel said all assets and properties owned by the petitioner were declared in the tax documents. He alleged that the bureau initiated the inquiry against the petitioner on political consideration. He asked the court to set aside the call-up notices and the inquiry being unlawful.