SHC seeks reply on flood relief funds

Govt's counsel says district judges already supervising relief work

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday sought a written response from Sindh Advocate General within 10 days regarding a petition for the fair and transparent distribution of aid and relief works for the flood victims.

A two-member bench headed by SHC Chief Justice Ahmad Ali Sheikh heard the petition regarding the assistance and relief works for the flood victims of Sindh. According to the public prosecutor, district and sessions judges are overseeing all rescue operations, and in the presence of judicial supervision, the appeal for further regulation is not admissible.

Petitioner's lawyer Shahid Hussain Soomro Advocate claimed that thousands of individuals are now homeless due to the floods and the government should build tent cities for them. The government's lawyer replied that the provincial authorities have already established a tent city in Hyderabad to house dislocated flood victims.

Advocate Soomro asserted that though a tent city has been set up in Hyderabad, thousands were still homeless. The Sindh chief justice remarked that camps have also been set up for the victims in Karachi. The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks while seeking a written response from the Advocate General Sindh within 10 days. The petition claimed that camps had been established in Karachi, and the victims were experiencing difficulties.

Tent cities should be set up for the flood victims in other cities too. The petition further stated that the victims were unable to access the funds, even after the government released them. A cell should be set up in each district and the district court judge should oversee the distribution of funds and the victims' rehabilitation.

Challan challenged

An SHC bench issued notices to the parties concerned on the application against the approval of the police challan in the case of alleged kidnapping of a girl who went from Karachi to Lahore to get married of her choice. The court issued notices to the parties on the application seeking their responses by September 8. The court also adjourned the hearing of the application related to the MLO report to September 8.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2022.