‘Stop it, I was forced to resign!’

The Lahore High Court on Thursday issued notice to Punjab Assembly speaker, several PML-N leaders and others for March 29 on an application filed by former MPA Shumaila Rana seeking directions to restrict the respondents from filling up her vacant seat.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial was hearing the civil miscellaneous application filed by Shumaila Rana in a pending matter.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel said, his client’s plea for restoration of her seat in the PA was pending before the court.
Referring to 20th amendment, he said that it was understood that the petitioner’s party, PML-N, was making recommendations to fill up his clients vacant seat and the respondents be restrained from filling up the vacant seat.
Naseem Sadiq, MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique, Senior Advisor to CM Zulifqar Khosa and Raja Ashfaq Sarwar had challenged the notification about accepting her resignation. She alleged that the PML-N leaders pressurised her into resigning which was accepted by the speaker against rules and regulations.
SOMEBODY STOP BILOUR, PLEASE! A petition has been moved in the LHC challenging the proposed purchase of defective Railway engines from a blacklisted locomotive company.
Advocate Feroze Shah Gillani filed the petition, submitting that Railways administration, working in evil nexus with Railway Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, had signed a contract to purchase 79 engines from blacklisted company. The petitioner stated that Public Procurement Authority (PPA) disapproved the proposed decision but it recommendation were ignored by the Railway authorities and went ahead with the plan. He said Pakistan Railways had made Rs 15 million as down-payment to the blacklisted company which was an unlawful and illegal step. He said Bilour had already caused a loss worth Rs 300 million to the national exchequer by selling 39,000 tonne Railway scrap at throw away rates. He regretted that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also did not take notice of the illegal sale of scrap and nobody was stopping him from further looting the declining Railways.
Feroze prayed to court to admit his petition for regular hearing, take notice of illegal purchase defective engines and restrain railway authorities from moving ahead with agreement.