Dam Fund: IHC reserves verdict over plea on SC authority

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday reserved its decision on maintainability of a petition against authority of the Supreme Court on the dam fund, ARY News reported.

Chief Justice IHC Aamir Farooq heard the case.

A local lawyer Adnan Iqbal, who has filed petition in the high court, has also pleaded to the court to summon the former chief justice of Pakistan and questioning him about the fund he launched for building dams and water reservoirs.

The amount spent on publicity of this activity was more than the amount deposited in the fund, petitioner claimed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had created dam fund in 2018.

The National Assembly last Friday unanimously passed a resolution to utilize the amount deposited in the Supreme Court of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund, for the rehabilitation of the people affected in last year’s unprecedented flood in the country.

The resolution said a five members bench of the apex court was informed that Rs16.53 billion had been deposited in the dam fund so far.

It said that the deposited fund would reach to Rs16.98 billion during the next quarter.

However, the resolution demanded that the deposited fund should be transferred to the national exchequer and the amount should be utilized for the rehabilitation of people affected by the floods of 2022.