Punjab govt ruined education sector: CJP

SC tells NAB to probe PIC irregularities; FIA to place Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission commissioner on ECL

The education sector has been ruined and this is all due to the inefficiency of the Punjab government, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar remarked on Sunday.

He was presiding over the two-member bench of the Supreme Court while hearing public interest litigations.

Also on Sunday, the Supreme Court bench ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate alleged irregularities at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).

The bench was hearing a suo motu notice in this regard.

It summoned NAB Lahore Director-General Saleem Shahzad on April 28 while instructing that Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission Commissioner Afzal Bhatti be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).

The bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, passed the orders on a suo motu in a complaint filed by Fareeha Majeed, who claimed that she was removed from her position after she refused to sign overbilled invoices.



The petitioner informed the court that when she pointed out the irregularities in the institute, she was fired. She said that she had contacted all relevant officials in this regard, but instead of acting against irregularities, they had fired her. The CJ said that the matter would be probed in depth and this was why the case was being sent to the NAB.

During the proceedings, the chief justice questioned the appointment of Afzal Bhatti, a dual national, as a PIC board member. Afzal also holds the post of Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission commissioner.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar wondered how come a person possessing dual nationality was deputed to this post. When the chief justice asked about the commissioner’s salary,  Bhatti said that he was drawing a package amounting to Rs550,000. The CJP remarked that the chief secretary was getting a salary of just Rs 180,000. "Are you studded with golden pheasant (Surkhab) feathers? Hirings is being done on outside recommendations. This cannot be overlooked," he said.

Upon the  intervention of the Punjab advocate-general, the CJP rebuked him and asserted that he was not weak. He said that the matter should be sent to the NAB to clarify the entire matter.

PIC Board Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassan contended that three inquiries had been held into the matter but charges were not proved.

However, the chief justice observed that the matter would be investigated by NAB and adjourned the hearing, while summoning the DG NAB, Lahore.

The bench also sought the record of the appointment of Afzal Bhatti as Commissioner, Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission.

The court ordered the DG NAB to present inquiry report next week and also summoned all the concerned authorities on April 28.

APP