Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday directed the Ministry of Water and Power to furnish a policy that could guarantee uninterrupted electricity to operate at least two fans and two light bulbs per household.
The chief justice was hearing a petition against unscheduled electricity load shedding. Justice Bandial said that the electricity was a basic necessity and the public should be ensured zero disruptions.
The ministry’s joint secretary and Pakistan Electric Power Company Managing Director Zargham Ishaq Khan and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company’s counsel appeared before the court on Tuesday.
The joint secretary told the court that a private chartered accountancy firm was presently conducting an audit of Rs480 billion that was paid to independent power projects. He said the accountancy firm enjoyed A-category status according to the standards set by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The petitioner’s counsel pointed out that the ministry had not submitted the objections to the payment raised by the auditor general. He also raised questions on the ad-hoc appointment of chiefs of DISCOs and said the officers heading the companies were minting money by favouring political leaders.
The ministry’s official told the court that they were looking into the appointment of CEOs, but accepted that the posts had not been advertised yet.
The chief justice directed him to ensure that all key appointments in the WAPDA subsidiaries on merit and without further delay.
Justice Bandial adjourned hearing till May 8 and directed the joint secretary to submit detailed reports on the questions raised by the court.
No bail in fraud case
A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed Shaikh Afzal’s bail application in the Bank of Punjab fraud case. The bench headed by Justice Sheikh Khawaja Imtiaz was hearing the petition. Afzal’s counsel said that his client had contracted hepatitis in prison and presented a medical certificate to the court. He also said that he had reached an agreement with Silk Bank and said the matter would be resolved according to the agreement.
He said a trial had not started and Afzal had not been proved guilty. A law officer representing the National Accountability Bureau submitted a copy of that agreement in court and said that the NAB director general had refused to accept it. He said the Bank of Punjab was the main aggrieved party in the case and the matter should be settled with the BoP. The bench then dismissed the bail application.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2014.