Daily Times

LAHORE: A division bench of Lahore High Court sought arguments on Thursday (today) on a petition challenging the shifting of Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills in Muzaffargarh, Ittefaq Sugar Mills and Chaudhry Sugar Mills in Rahim Yar Khan believed to be owned by the ruling Sharifs.

On Wednesday, Punjab government’s lawyer Khawaja Haris concluded his arguments. He said the petition was misconceived as no illegality was committed in shifting of the mills.

He said that the provincial government had made a policy for shifting of sugar mills after complete deliberation and consultation with the departments concerned. He said that it was wrong to say that the policy was made for any specific group.

Jehangir Tareen’s lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan gave his arguments. Tareen and others had assailed the relocation of the mills before the single bench. However, a two-member bench later suspended the decision. The petitioners then approached the Supreme Court against the order.

The bench on March 2 had ordered to seal Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills and Chaudhry Sugar Mills.

The bench was hearing intra-court appeals moved by the administration of these mills challenging a single bench that had set aside the shifting of these three mills to new districts of South Punjab.

The single-member bench had passed the impugned decision in October 2016 on petitions filed on behalf of the administration of Tareen who had assailed the relocation of the Sharif family’s mills before the single bench. However, a two-member bench later suspended the decision.

The petitioners then approached the Supreme Court against the order.

The SC had remanded the case to the LHC with direction to decide the appeals of the mills.

Before the single bench, the petitioner’s counsel had said that the secretary industries issued the impugned notifications on December 4, 2015 with mala fide intention to facilitate the desired relocation of these sugar mills. He said under Section 3 of Punjab Industries (Control on Establishment and Enlargement) Ordinance, there was a restriction on establishment of industrial undertakings without the provincial government’s permission.

He had submitted that under this section, various notifications had been issued imposing restrictions on establishment of new sugar mills in the province. He had pleaded that it was the government’s consistent position that relocation amounts to establishing of a new industrial undertaking.