Notices issued in bribery petition

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued pre-admission notices to the Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and other respondents on a petition filed by contractors and companies alleging that three officials of the ministry demanded bribes in exchange for the release of outstanding payments amounting to millions of rupees.

Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued the written order following the preliminary hearing of the case.

According to the petition, the applicants have requested the court to direct the Ministry of Planning to release their long-overdue contractual payments, alleging that the legitimate dues have been deliberately withheld.

The petition further claims that three ministry officials refused to process the payments unless illegal gratification was paid, describing their alleged conduct as unlawful.