Daily Times

The Lahore High Court (LHC), on Friday, slammed the government for tormenting its businessmen while reaching out to the international community with a ‘begging bowl’.

In a hearing of a petition filed by Nishat Chunian Power Plant Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shahzad Saleem, against the government’s act of placing him on the no-fly list, Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan observed that all investors were not plunderers.

He wondered who would want to invest in Pakistan if all businessmen were harassed, and directed the government to remove Saleem from Exit Control List (ECL).

His counsel, Salman Aslam Butt, had argued that the petitioner had always honoured summons by National Accountability Bureau on top of submitting all required documents.

To which, Additional Attorney General, Chaudhry Ishtiaq A Khan, asserted that government had only banned him from travelling after gaining approval from the federal cabinet. The petitioner had not called on the government to revoke its decision and directly turned to the court in this regard.

Saleem was said to have been investigated on corruption charges with reference to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) scam. The country’s top court had also taken a suo moto notice in this regard, the NAB prosecutor added.

Butt responded by stating that the Supreme Court had given a verdict against all 85 IPPs, yet NAB was only targetting one person. He further claimed that the petitioner was being victimised over his friendship with former prime minister’s chief secretary, Fawad Hassan Fawad. The court was also requested to inquire the government regarding the leniency shown to the prime minister’s advisor, Abdul Razzaq Dawood. He added, why was he not being put on the ECL despite facing the NAB ‘s inquiry into the IPPs?

Justice Khan then directed the government to remove the petitioner from the ECL.

During the hearing in a petition by Ahmad Sher among others against the quotas allotted to particular areas by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), Justice Jawad Hassan barred the body from announcing results of nine seats reserved for south Punjab zone. The stay order was issued on the basis of an alleged violation of Article 27 of the Constitution.

The petitioner’s counsel, Sheraz Zaka, informed the court that Article 27 did not allow any provincial authority to allot a quota or reserved seats to a specific area after a period of 40 years and this period had ended in 2014. Zaka argued that Provincial Management Services (PMS) should recruit on the basis of open competition and transparency principle. The court was also asked to declare seats reserved for Punjab ‘s backward areas illegal as a violation of Article 27 of the Constitution.

Justice Hassan observed that the matter was of urgent public importance, and adjourned the hearing till March 6.

Published in Daily Times, February 24^th 2019.