The Supreme Court (SC) directed the federal government and all provincial chief secretaries to ensure implementation of every recommendation of the Flood Commission’s report.
A three-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the case pertaining to the implementation of the Flood Commission’s report.
Furthermore, the court also issued a notice to Marvi Memon, a former legislator of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) now associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to appear in court for the upcoming hearing of the case.
Memon, who had requested the court in September 2011 to order the revival of the commission to determine if the government had failed to carry out its recommendations, is expected to review the report during the next hearing.
During the hearing, the CJP enquired from the Sindh additional advocate general as to why the commission’s report had not been made public. He added that damages had been estimated at Rs 855 billion, whereas 85 lives had been lost. He further said that destruction had not been prevented and no one had been held accountable.
The chief justice further enquired about the measures taken to obstruct the flow of rivers, adding that nothing had been done to alleviate the calamity. He said that the Punjab government bore more responsibility for not obstructing the flow of the rivers, as all rivers pass through the province.
He asked why low-lying areas had not been cleared of floodwater, adding that inaction in this regard would result in a loss of lives. He said that innocent lives must not be put at stake to satisfy political interests.
A representative of the Sindh Irrigation Department told the court that 25 percent of the encroachments in low-lying areas had been cleared.
Moreover, the chief justice said that a Google Earth satellite image should also be submitted as proof that encroachments had been removed.
The court directed the federal government and all provincial chief secretaries to ensure implementation of every recommendation made in the commission’s report. The hearing was adjourned for three weeks.
