Petition Against Alleged Irregularities In Baab-i-Pakistan Construction Dismissed
The Lahore High Court has dismissed a petition of the Opposition Leader Punjab Assembly, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, against alleged irregularities in the construction of Baab-i-Pakistan Memorial Project on Walton Road.
Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza had reserved judgment on the maintainability of the petition and has now ruled that the petition was not maintainable, and has dismissed it. During the final hearing, the judge had asked the petitioner to play his role against the government’s malpractices in the Assembly instead of filing petitions before courts.
The petitioner had contended that the Baab-i-Pakistan project was initiated in 1991 and its contract was awarded in an open competition. He said the project was shelved in 2009 due to financial constraints. The government recently reopened a tender to revamp the project but violated principles of transparency. He said the government also changed the master plan of the project and wanted to award the contract to its blue-eyed firm. He had asked the court to restrain the government from changing the contractor and master plan of the project.
This news was previously published in DAWN and is being republished here with permission.
