The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan has suspended a decision by the Sindh High Court regarding subsidies granted to private companies during the petroleum crisis, admitting the federal government’s appeal for a hearing.
A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the case on Thursday. During the proceedings, the court issued notices to the involved parties and summoned the complete record of both cases from the Sindh High Court. The court was informed that the Sindh High Court had previously ordered the payment of billions of rupees in subsidies to a private firm, Go Petroleum, within one week. Additionally, in a separate related case, the High Court had restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from taking action on the matter.
According to the federal government, a decision was made to provide subsidies to petroleum companies to bridge the price differential during the national petroleum crisis. However, the private company subsequently filed a claim seeking approximately 14 billion rupees in subsidies from the government. In response, the government directed the FIA to launch an investigation to verify the sales data and the legitimacy of the claims.
Following the arguments presented, the Constitutional Court suspended the implementation of the High Court’s order and adjourned the hearing indefinitely.