Time frame: Govt issued notice on intra-court appeal on Bab-i-Pakistan construction

LAHORE:  

A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the provincial government on an intra-court appeal on the construction of Bab-i-Pakistan.

The bench, comprising Justice Ayesha A malik and Justice Faisal Zaman Khan, issued notices on a petition moved by Leader of Opposition in the Provincial Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rashid.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka, his counsel, said 60 per cent of the construction of Bab-i-Pakistan was complete. He said the contract regarding the construction had been granted to Amjad Mukhtar Associates Limited in 1991 by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He said after more than two decades, the structure was being demolished. This was a waste of taxpayer’s money.

The counsel said the government was trying to modify the design and award the contract to another consultant.

An assistant advocate general objected to the appeal filed against the order of single bench, saying it was time-barred. He said the appeal should be filed within 20 days.

Zaka argued that the time taken to obtain the order of the single bench should be excluded from the limitation period. The judge issued notices to the government to submit a reply and adjourned hearing for a month, saying the question about the timing of the appeal would be settled at that hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2016.