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Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
PHC rejects bail pleas in wheat theft scandal
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has dismissed the bail applications of suspects accused of embezzling 3,300 bags of wheat from the Azakhel wheat storage facility. The hearing was conducted by Justice Syed Arshad Ali, with the suspects' lawyers, Additional Director of Food Imran Jadoon, Additional Advocate General Inaam Yousafzai, and other officials in attendance. The defense argued that suspect Arshad was serving as a storage officer in Azakhel, while Talha Muhammad was a former employee. They are accused of misappropriating wheat worth millions of rupees, but, according to the defense, other individuals were also implicated in the case. The lawyers maintained that there were no criminal charges or concrete evidence against their clients, whose duties were limited to maintaining records. The Additional Advocate General informed the court that the Chief Justice had already rejected the bail petitions of other accused in the same case. He said that 3,300 bags of wheat had gone missing from the storage facility, causing a loss of over Rs190 million to the national exchequer. The defense countered that no shortage occurred during their clients' tenure and that documentary evidence supported this. They also offered to personally bear the cost of weighing the wheat stock. Additional Director of Food Imran Jadoon told the court that while the paperwork appeared in order, the stock was found short, and a letter had been sent to the Chief Secretary requesting a high-level inquiry. The Additional Advocate General added that two other suspects had withdrawn their bail applications from the Supreme Court after rejection. With the trial ongoing in the lower court, the PHC dismissed the current bail applications, keeping the accused in custody.
Business Recorder
16-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Massive fire engulfs Gerry Dnata warehouse at Lahore airport
LAHORE: A devastating fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday at the Gerry Dnata warehouse located at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. At least eight fire brigade and rescue vehicles were deployed to the scene, and efforts were made to bring the blaze under control. Fortunately, no casualties were reported, but the fire resulted in significant damage to the consignments stored in the warehouse. According to sources, all the goods were destroyed in the fire. The incident has sparked a controversy, with Customs clearing agents expressing their frustration over the delay in processing Goods Declarations (GDs) by the Pakistan Customs appraisers. They claim that the pending GDs led to undue delays, resulting in demurrages and ultimately, the loss of billions of rupees. Talking to the Business Recorder, former senior vice chairman All Pakistan Customs Agents Association Syed Arshad Ali revealed that millions of rupees worth of samples were destroyed in the fire at the Gerry Dnata warehouse despite duties being paid and bank documents being released against the consignments. Customs clearing agents attribute the loss to the delayed release of goods by Customs appraisers, who often cite various pretexts such as requesting additional documents or referring cargo for examination, he added. Ali further stressed that air shipments are typically time-sensitive, but the non-cooperation of cargo handlers has become a persistent issue. 'The present incident has added insult to our injuries,' he said, highlighting the need for improved efficiency and cooperation in the Customs clearance process. According to him, the Association has demanded serious action against the responsible Customs staff for their negligence and requested a refund of duties already paid to the department. The Collector assured the Association that show-cause notices would be issued to the concerned staff and that the duties would be refunded after due confirmation. The Collector also assured that operations at the cargo site would resume from Wednesday evening onwards and that a strategy would be devised to proceed with payment against claims. The incident has highlighted the need for improved coordination and efficiency in the Customs clearance process to prevent such incidents in the future. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PHC orders reserved seats reallocation
Listen to article The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday annulled the distribution of reserved seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly and ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to redistribute the seats after hearing the parties. A two-member bench, comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal, announced the reserved judgment on the petition of the PML-N against the distribution of reserved seats. In its two-page judgment, the court declared null and void both the announcements of the ECP regarding the allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities. It said the ECP should reallocate these seats after hearing all candidates and political parties within 10 days. The court delayed the oath-taking of the lawmakers on the reserved seats until the ECP decision. The court also ruled that ECP's deadline for the independent candidates to join any political party in the provincial assembly by February 22, 2024, was unconstitutional. The K-P Assembly comprises 124 lawmakers – 99 elected on general seats, besides 21 reserved seats for women and four reserved seats for non-Muslims. The reserved seats are allocated only to the political parties in the house based on their strength. After the general elections on February 8, 2024 the ECP allocated the reserved seats to the political parties, excluding the independents, who were PTI-backed, and formed majority in the house. However, the matter dragged for over a year in the courts, until it was settled in the Supreme Court recently. The PHC ruling directed the ECP to redistribute these seats after hearing the PML-N, the JUI-F, the PPP, the ANP and the PTI-Parliamentarians. Earlier, during the hearing, ECP Special Secretary Law Muhammad Arshad, ECP lawyer Mohsin Kamran, PML-N lawyer Aamir Javed and Barrister Saqib Raza, JUI lawyer Naveed Akhtar and Farooq Afridi appeared in the court. The petitioner's lawyer argued that the ECP counted six PML-N members – five elected on general seats and one independent joining the party within three days of stipulated time – and distributed the reserved seats, accordingly, through a notification issued on February 22, 2024. However, he continued, notifications of the election victories of some candidates were still pending by that time. He added that the notification of Malik Tariq Awan's victory was issued on February 22, who joined the PML-N on February 23 – well within the three days of timeframe. This raised the PML-N's strength in the house to seven, the lawyer told the court. Similarly, he added, the ECP issued a separate notification for allocation of reserved seats for minorities on March 4 and again the PML-N's six seats were counted, as Awan was declared an independent. As per the distribution, lawyer stated, one minority seat was given to the JUI, one to the PML-N and one to the PPP, while one seat was left vacant, which would have been decided through tossing of the coin. He added that the party moved the ECP and claimed that it had seven seats in the house. Overall, lawyer Aamir Javed told the court, the ECP gave 10 reserved seats to the JUI based on its seven general seats in the assembly, while the PML-N was given eight reserved seats on the strength of seven general seats, by counting its six seats. The petitioner's lawyer said that the party did not want postponement of the Senate elections which was due later this month. He requested that if the court wanted to send the matter to the ECP, then the election supervisor should be bound to decide the matter within three days. When asked by Justice Ali as to how the ECP could distribute the seats when the process was not complete, the ECP special secretary said that the assembly session had to be held 21 days after the election. He added that ECP allocated the seats based on the party positions on February 22, 2024. The JUI lawyer took the position that the party whose seats were challenged should be made a party to the case. Naveed Advocate said that JUI was not party and he was representing Gujral Singh, who was elected on a reserved seats. After hearing the matter, the court reserved its ruling, which was announced later in the day. The court also annulled the notification regarding Gujral Singh, dated March 26, 2024.
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Court restores powers to local representatives
The Peshawar High Court has nullified amendments made by the provincial government to the Local Government Ordinance that reduced the powers and funding of elected local representatives. The court accepted petitions challenging the changes and declared the provincial government's amendments unconstitutional. A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed presided over the case. The petitions were filed by Humayun Mayar, Zubair Ali, and others, and were argued by Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai. During the hearing, Yousafzai informed the court that local government elections were held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in February 2022, after which the newly elected representatives took oath and began performing their duties. However, the provincial government soon initiated efforts to curtail their authority and, later that year, amended the Local Government Act. Yousafzai argued that these amendments significantly rolled back the powers of elected local bodies and stripped them of their authority to allocate and utilize development funds. These powers were instead transferred to the district administration and other government departments. He pointed out that the majority of seats in the first phase of elections were won by opposition parties, prompting the government to tighten its control by changing the law. The lawyer further contended that by shifting most powers from the Act to the Rules, the government bypassed legal safeguards. Specifically, amendments were made to Sections 23A and 25 of the Local Government Act, altering the composition of the Tehsil Local Government structure originally defined in the 2019 version of the law. He emphasized that the 2022 amendments not only took away powers from local representatives such as Tehsil Mayors and Village Council members, but also deprived them of any developmental funds for the past three years. This, he noted, had created a situation of uncertainty and pressure, as representatives face public expectations without any resources to meet them. Yousafzai argued that if such amendments were deemed necessary, they should have been applied prospectively, during future elections, rather than retroactively undermining the authority of currently elected officials under the 2019 Act. In response, the Additional Advocate General contended that the amendments were lawful and within the authority of the provincial government. He claimed the changes were presented before the provincial assembly and that the elected representatives had been granted their due rights. After reviewing the arguments, the bench declared the provincial government's amendments invalid, restoring the original powers and funding mechanisms for local government representatives as per the 2019 Local Government Act.
Express Tribune
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PHC slaps Rs10k fine on PDA for failing to present legal counsel
The Peshawar High Court has imposed a fine of Rs10,000 on the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) for failing to present legal counsel during a hearing on a petition challenging the non-allotment of residential plots to employees of the Local Government and PDA. The case was heard by Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali. During the proceedings, no lawyer appeared on behalf of the PDA. The court was informed that the lawyer previously assigned to the case had been removed from PDA's legal panel. Representing the petitioners, Advocate Mumtaz Ahmed informed the court that his clients are employees of the PDA and Local Government, and as per court rulings and official regulations, they are entitled to plot allotments. However, the PDA has yet to allocate these plots. A PDA representative explained that the absence of legal counsel was due to the fact that a new legal panel had not yet been constituted. Seeking more time, the official requested a delay. In response, Justice Arshad Ali remarked, "Are we here to wait for your panel decisions? You create panels at will and dissolve them at will. We are imposing a penalty and giving you one last opportunity." The court subsequently fined the PDA Rs10,000 for failing to present a lawyer and ordered the authority to ensure legal representation at the next hearing. On the other hand, PHC has ordered the issuance of Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs) to two Afghan nationals married to Pakistani women, upon fulfillment of all necessary legal requirements. The court disposed of the writ petition after passing the directive. The case was heard by a two-member bench.
