The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Balochistan government to furnish the details of the money received through National Finance Commission (NFC) from 2008 to 2013 and where these funds were spent.
Observing that the practice of allowing special grants to the elected representatives should end now, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry directed Balochistan chief secretary to also submit a clear statement about receipts of funds from other means and their expenditures.
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Abdul Qahar Khan Waddan in his petition filed last year alleged mass corruption and misappropriation by the elected members of the assembly and the govt officials and had prayed the court to direct the govt to recover the money.
Iftikhar Gilani, representing the petitioner, argued that the last government allocated Rs250 million to everyone in the 60-member Balochistan Assembly for their development schemes but most of the money was misappropriated and the schemes had not been completed yet.
Khawaja Haris Ahmed, appearing on behalf of the chief secretary, prayed the court to vacate stay order issued by it in November 2012, stopping the work on different development schemes worth Rs24 billion. The bench assured early disposal of the petition as Balochistan Advocate General Amanullah Kinrani also argued that the money would lapse if not spent before June 2013.
The chief justice expressed concern over allowing special grants to the elected representatives who suggest development schemes in their areas and supervise their execution. He said the allocation of funds to representatives was started during the tenure of former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. “(But) this practice must end now,” he remarked. The court, he said, would examine the laws and rules in this regard.
The court ordered the provincial government to inform about what criminal or civil actions had been initiated against those found guilty in a report that highlighted deficiencies and corruption in different schemes.
The court also asked the government to provide details about any inquiries made about rest of the schemes as the committee had only covered 25 percent development schemes. The case is adjourned until today (Thursday).