ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench accepted unconditional apology of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Director General (DG) Sher Muhammad Khan on Wednesday. He was issued show cause notice for using contemptuous language against the court.
The bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman was hearing a petition filed by Jamat-e-Islami (JI’s) former chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad against the government’s move to purchase assets of British Petroleum on exorbitant price.
The court rejected the reply of Petroleum Secretary Imtiaz Qazi and asked him to submit a comprehensive report with all the relevant documents and the minutes of July 2002 meetings in which Badin oilfield’s privatisation was decided.
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDL) Counsel Salman Akram Raja informed the court that the government was also involved in the sale of British Petroleum assets along with OGDCL for raising foreign exchange.
He said the Board of Governors of the OGDCL and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) was authorised to buy or sell shares partly or fully but it required final approval of the government.
The secretary sought one week for filing comprehensive reply with complete documents, which the court accepted and adjourned further hearing till January 3, 2011.
Contract lecturers’ issues
ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench directed Education federal secretary on Wednesday to solve the issues of contract, ad hoc and daily-wages lecturers of federal governments’ model colleges before advertising fresh appointments and submit report till Jan 4, 2011.
The bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing an appeal filed by 117 ad hoc and daily-wage lecturers, serving in various model colleges of the federal government, against an advertisement of the education ministry for fresh recruitments of lecturers.
Lecturers’ counsels told the court that hundreds of teachers were serving in various model colleges of the federal government on ad hoc or daily-wages for years and instead of regularising their services, the ministry was determined to make fresh appointments, which was discriminatory.
The court had ordered the Education Secretary, Federal Directorate of Education director general and the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) not to recruit any fresh lecturer against the advertised posts until further orders.
SC pardons Petroleum DG in contempt
