Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar came down hard on a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official on Friday while hearing a case related to rainwater accumulation at the New Islamabad International Airport. Hearing the case at the Lahore registry, the CJP Saqib Nisar-led bench was irked at the CAA for misreporting the incident in its written reply. During the proceedings, a video showing the stagnant water was aired in court. The chief justice remarked that the video shows a lot of water whereas the CAA report attempts to downplay the matter. The CAA deputy director general responded that the water accumulated in an under-construction building of the airport, adding that the heavy rain led to leakage and accumulation of water. Justice Ijazul Ahsan then wondered how there could be a water leak in a structure that has just been constructed. Dismissing the CAA report, Chief Justice Nisar remarked why the CAA official’s case should not be sent to the Federal Investigation Agency or contempt proceedings be initiated against him for submitting a false report. The chief justice also wondered how he was appointed a director general without the court’s assent, to which he responded that the Pakistan International Airlines CEO approved his appointment. The hearing was then adjourned until July 31. Pakistan’s long-awaited new airport in the federal capital opened its doors May 3, after years of delays and setbacks and a soaring cost of over Rs 100 billion. The new airport is set to be able to handle more than nine million passengers annually. Published in Daily Times, July 28th 2018.