SC: AG’s report on Zakat money should be referred to NAB or FIA

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing of the suo moto action regarding the steps taken by the government to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A five-member SC larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case.

During the course of proceedings, the court observed that there should be a uniform policy against the coronavirus on which all stakeholders should have consensus. They directed the Federation and the provinces to jointly formulate a national policy and sought a report.

The court asked the Attorney General for Pakistan to meet the Law Minister to address the concerns of Islamabad High Court Bar and the District Bar.

It also directed the Secretary Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to submit a report over ill-treatment of doctors in Dabgri Garden area, Peshawar.

The court sought response from the Federation and the provinces on the Auditor General’s report on Zakat and Bait-ul-Mal Funds, utilization.

The SC stated that the court in its next hearing would decide whether the matter regarding misappropriation of Zakat and Bait-ul-Mal funds should be referred to the National Accountability Bureau or the Federal Investigation Agency.

The court asked the Sindh government to reconsider its decision regarding opening of the business in the province. The provincial government should take a decision after reviewing the applications of business community, it added.

The court asked the Sindh government to formulate a policy that applied to all industries. The markets should be open with proper implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The SOPs were formulated by the government but practically nothing was done, te court observed.

Justice Bandial said a uniform policy should be evolved in a week, otherwise the court would issue an interim order. The court in its previous hearing had talked about transparency and a uniform strategy. There was no harmony between the federal and provincial governments. The governments should consider the rights of the people. He said inter-provincial transport service should be started, as people were forced to travel in trucks. They had to pay Rs 25,000 for travelling between Karachi and Islamabad. Road travel was more expensive than air travel, he noted.

He said the nation had come out of the crises like flood and earthquake, and it would come out of the current problem too.

The CJP asked under which powers, the Sindh government had stopped commercial activities in the province

The Advocate General Sindh replied aid that under section three of the Sindh Epidemic Act, the government could take precautionary measures in case of an epidemic.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said under Article 151 (4), the province needed the permission of President to suspend commercial activities.

The Attorney General said that the provinces could not suspend commercial activities without the permission of the President.

The CJP observed that Dr Israr Ahmed’s words were proving true today as he had described the today’s situation 20 ago.

He asked what would happen if the people misappropriated Zakat, Sadaqat and Fitrana funds?

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not good as deaths were on rise in the province.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah asked whether medical clinics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were open.

The Advocate General KP said almost all areas in the province had been opened.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said the people in the medical department were tortured by the KP police. The doctors were visiting hotels for examining patients. The clinics that did not comply with the SOPs should not be opened, he added.

He said the police misbehaved with a consultant in KP. It took 20 years for a doctor to become a consultant, he added.

He observed that since the health sector in KP was not in a good condition as the health department was not headed by a health professional.

The chief justice asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to submit details regarding distribution of foreign funding. He expressed dissatisfaction over the reports of federal and provincial governments.

The Advocate General Sindh informed the court that it was decided to open some industries and services after the National Coordination Committee meeting. Some businesses had been reopened, while others would be reopened in the coming days.

The chief justice remarked that the majority of the people were associated with the shops and businesses that were closed. The poor people ran small businesses and shops.

He asked the Attorney General as to why trains were not running.

The Attorney General responded that the trains were stopped as the people were travelling on them hanging outside, which could have caused accidents. Restoration of train service would be considered in the next meeting of the National Coordinating Committee, he added.

To a court query, the Attorney General said the provinces and the Federation could not influence each other as their powers were defined in the Constitution.

The court remarked that the Federation could not usurp the rights of provinces and similarly, the provincial governments could not stop the activities, which generated revenue for the Federation.

The court sought a reply regarding the powers of the Federation and the provinces.