Punjab Saaf Pani projects: Will account for every single penny, remarks CJP Nisar

Punjab Saaf Pani projects: Will account for every single penny, remarks CJP Nisar

Lahore (Staff Report): Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked on Sunday that he will ensure everyone is held accountable for their actions and each and every penny of the nation will be accounted.

A two-member bench of the SC, headed by the CJP heard a suo motu case regarding alleged irregularities in appointments in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) at its Lahore Registry.

The chief secretary of Punjab informed the court that about Rs 4 billion rupees have been spent in the clean water company and despite incurring an expenditure of Rs 4 billion on the project, the citizens have not been able to avail a single drop of water.

“Everyone will be held accountable; I will ensure that every penny of the nation is returned,” CJP remarked during the hearing. He also said that those who appointed people in the project would also be held accountable and be asked to return the spent money.

He questioned why Zaeem Qadri’s brother Asim Qadri and wife Uzma Qadri were included in the board of directors.

Waseem Ajmal, former CEO of the PSPC, said that the chief minister gave orders regarding the company although he had no authority. “Local experts were replaced by foreign experts on orders of the chief minister,” he said.

The CJP pondered the possibility of sending the case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with a 15-day deadline for the bureau to investigate it. He then summoned the NAB prosecutor general on April 14.