Orange Line hearing: Govt told to present metro train agreement

LAHORE:

A Lahore High Court division bench directed the federal government on Monday to present details of the Orange Line Metro Train project agreement with China in the open court.

The bench, comprising Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh and Justice Shahid Karim, was hearing petitions filed by some civil society organisations and others against the project.

The counsel for the federal government told the bench that the agreement between Pakistan and China was confidential and sensitive. He said that the document could be shown to judges in their chambers.

The bench turned down the request and directed the counsel to submit the agreement in open court at the next hearing (Tuesday).

Earlier, Advocate Azhar Siddique, the petitioners’ counsel, had said the agreement between Pakistan and China regarding the train project was not transparent. “The government does not even discuss the multi-billion project in assembly. The government has been using funds from other sectors, including health and education sectors, for the train project,” he had said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.