LAHORE, May 16: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the federal government and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority in a petition through which the recent raise in POL prices was challenged.

Advocate M D Tahir in his petition stated that the government had, by revising the prices upward this year and in 2005, earned a net profit of Rs1 billion. He said the actual cost of imported raw petroleum ranged between Rs34 and Rs35 a litre but consumers were being made to purchase it for Rs57. He submitted that the petrol price in 1999 was Rs26 a litre and it was revised 45 times in two years to fix it at Rs57.

The petitioner requested the court to issue a direction to the federal government stating that the profit earned with the enforcement of sales tax, import duty, dealers commission and other overheads, should be made available to import more oil for sale at cheaper rates.

PLF petition: Justice Muhammad Akhtar Shabbir of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday took up a constitutional writ petition filed by the Pakistan Lawyers Forum as an objection case to determine if the pleas against President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s dual office were maintainable and if the high court had the jurisdiction over such matters.

The petition, moved through Advocate A.K. Dogar, was returned by the LHC registrar with the observation that it was not maintainable. The lawyer re-filed the petition on the plea that courts, and not the registrar office, were competent to decide if a petition was maintainable. He asked the LHC office to fix the petition before a bench as an objection case to determine its maintainability.

The court invited a deputy attorney-general to advance on Wednesday (today) arguments on the question of maintainability of the petition, which stated that Gen Musharraf was violating his oath of the office of the chief of the army staff under the constitution by meddling in political activities.

Mr Dogar submitted that the constitutional president held a non-partisan position which was the demand of the office, but Gen Musharraf had started taking part in active politics and was supporting the ruling party.