KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday restrained the Sindh government from purchasing a helicopter for the chief minister and fire engines for the fire department.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, was seized with the application of civil rights campaigner Mehmood Akhtar Rizvi who impleaded the chief minister, chief secretary, finance secretary and director general of the National Accountability Bureau as respondents.

The applicant informed the bench that the provincial government was purchasing a helicopter for Rs1.6 billion without inviting international bids in violation of the rules.

The bench that also comprised Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim directed the respondents to place on record the original documents of the agreement.The applicant said the helicopter was purportedly being purchased to carry out relief activities in drought-hit parts of Tharparkar district despite the fact that the Sindh government already had two helicopters for relief activities and the government had spent Rs230 million on their repair and maintenance.

He said the provincial government had entered into an agreement with an Italian company for the purchase of the third helicopter.

The applicant said that the provincial government was also purchasing additional accessories of Rs16.5 million from the Italian company.

He further said that earlier rules and regulation were bluntly violated in the purchase of fire tenders at the cost of Rs3.5 billion.

Besides, he said that the provincial government was also purchasing 139 fire-engines. He said the apex court had restrained the authorities from purchasing fire-engines in violation of rules and regulations, yet the Sindh government entered into a purchasing agreement.

The bench put off the hearing to a date to be later announced by the court office.

The same bench also restrained the provincial government from purchasing armoured personnel carriers (APCs) for police from Serbia.

The managing director of the Heavy Industries Taxila appeared in court on a notice to inform it that all types of modern vehicles for police and other law enforcement agencies were being manufactured at the complex. He said that the heavy industries complex could provide APCs and other weapons as per requirement of the police.

The federal law officer said that the type of vehicle being purchased from Serbia was not manufactured in Pakistan.

According to the applicant, the provincial authorities with the connivance of top police officials were purchasing an APC at the price of Rs140 million, while the same vehicle could be bought from heavy Industry Taxila at the price of Rs40 million only.

The bench directed the provincial authorities to place on record the original documents of the agreement with Serbia and put off the hearing to Dec 29.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2014