MANSEHRA: The Supreme Court on Monday issued contempt notices to the relevant federal and provincial authorities seeking their respective response to the petition about non-compliance with its orders for the completion of the New Balakot City project.

Lawyer Munir Hussain Lughmani told reporters here on Monday that his client, Shiraz Mahmood Qureshi, a social activist, had moved the Supreme Court for contempt proceedings against the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority, commissioner of Hazara division, economic affairs secretary, and nine other departments for not following its Jan 2019 orders to complete the housing project within 30 months.

He said neither the federal government released Rs1 billion required for the housing project nor did the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government retrieve the project land occupied by the residents of Bakrial area during the 30 months deadline set by the apex court.

The lawyer said a Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Ijazul Hassan and Justice Munib Akhtar ordered the additional attorney general and provincial additional advocate general, who were present in the courtroom, to produce reports about the current status of the housing scheme on the next hearing, whose schedule would be announced afterwards.

Centre, province were told in Jan 2019 to complete housing project in 30 months

He also said the court also ordered the relevant departments and authorities to file their respective response to the contempt petition.

Mr Lughmani said the Supreme Court had ordered the immediate release of Rs1 billion funds for the project but the federal government didn’t release a single penny and thus, causing the project cost to reach Rs15 billion.

PML-N CANDIDATES: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz central leader retired Captain Mohammad Safdar has said his party will field only die-hard activists for the upcoming phase of the local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Hazara division.

“Rest assured that we [PML-N] won’t award election tickets to the brothers and cousins of our lawmakers,” he told a convention of the party convention here on Monday.

Mr Safdar said PML-N parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly Sardar Mohammad Yusuf would announce the names of the party’s election candidates for Mansehra district.

He insisted that his party would sweep elections to be held in Hazara division and some other regions in the province on March 27.

The PML-N leader said his party was ready to make electoral alliance with members of the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement but ruled out such cooperation or seat adjustment with the ruling PTI.

He said the government’s flawed policies caused high inflation and therefore, the people were struggling to make ends meet.

PML-N Youth Wing provincial president and MPA Aurangzeb Nalotha, who was also in attendance, said the party would award the LG election tickets to youth.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022