Deputy commissioner barred from launching projects

UC-34 chairman claims the district official was using powers of local government director illegally

ISLAMABAD: What could be a victory for the elected local government of the federal capital, a court on Friday barred the Islamabad district administration from using the powers of local government director to launch development projects in the city.

This was directed by a single member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah.

The court on Friday heard a petition filed by Union Council-34 chairman challenging the powers of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqat to initiate projects.

The petitioner stated in his plea that Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) mayor and the elected Union Council chairmen were in-charge of local government schemes as per the Local Government Act 2015. However, the deputy commissioner was usurping the powers of local government director to illegally advertise tenders for projects in newspapers.

In this regard, the UC-34 chairman stated that Shafqat had allegedly awarded the contract for water supply scheme in Bara Kahu to an activist of a political party.

He urged the court to stop the DC from using the powers of local government and also sought directives for authorizing local body representatives to issue development projects.

At this, the bench stopped the deputy commissioner from issuing tenders for development projects on behalf of the local government and also sought a reply from the federation in this regard

 

Actor seeks arrest of a fraudster

Renowned Lollywood Actor Laila approached the district courts on Friday in search of Shahid Hasan, whom she accuses of defrauding her by giving her bogus cheques.

The suspect, though, managed to secure from the courts an exemption to appear until the next hearing.

Hasan’s counsel appeared before civil judge Suleman Badar and applied for exemption from appearing before the court. The court admitted the plea and adjourned the case until May 22.

He has already secured a pre-arrest bail from a high court even as cases for presenting bogus cheque and fraud are pending against him. However, no charge-sheet has been submitted in the case thus far.

Meanwhile, Laila arrived at the district courts in Islamabad. She told the court that she had engaged Hasan to help facilitate the sale of one of her properties in phase-IV of the DHA in Lahore and to procure property in phase-V of the same housing society. However, she said that Hasan had defrauded her and some Rs20.5 million of her money is stuck in the deal.

The actor said that she is already pursuing cases against Hasan in Lahore for the past eight years but he keeps slipping through the fingers.

Last month, Laila said that Hasan’s wife had reached out to her, claiming that Hasan had even defrauded her.

Hasan’s wife told the court that they had been married for 25 years and even had children. However, he convinced her to sell her house so that they could move to Islamabad.

However, Hasan’s wife said that he defrauded her of Rs2.5 million. Instead of returning the money, gave cheques which bounced at the teller’s window. Now, they are pursuing a case against Hasan for giving bogus cheques.

They said that the police had finally managed to arrest Hasan during the funeral of his sister but he managed to obtain bail.

Laila and Hasan’s wife both proclaimed that they are simple women who know nothing of police stations, courts and following a criminal case. They noted that the police had finally managed to arrest Hasan after hectic efforts but he managed to slip away.

“We were not even informed about his bail nor were we summoned by the court to argue against the bail application," they said.

They also urged the prime minister to take notice of the issue and ensure justice.