ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that a ban imposed by the Punjab government on the movement of wheat to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been lifted.
Additional Advocate General of Punjab Razzaq A. Mirza told a two-judge bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed that the provincial government had issued a notification restoring the movement of wheat to all provinces, including KP.
The bench had taken up an application of Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch on the plight of hapless citizens who were being forced to buy flour at exorbitant prices, although Pakistan was an agricultural country.
The issue was raised on May 20 by KP Advocate General Abdul Lateef Yousufzai who complained that the wheat already procured by the KP government from Punjab was not being allowed to be brought to the province. Subsequently, the apex court ordered Acting Advocate General of Punjab Mustafa Ramday to look into the matter and inform it about the steps being taken to resolve the issue.
The KP government had said that the unannounced restriction was creating wheat shortage and increasing the price of flour in the province. Free flow of edible commodities throughout the country had been ensured under Article 151 of the Constitution, it argued. The KP government said the federal government had fixed the procurement target of wheat for the province at 0.450 million tons for the fiscal year 2013-14. The target has to be met during the current crop season ending on June 30. Millers in the province were facing difficulty in transporting the wheat they had purchased in Punjab for grinding, it complained.
Justice Gulzar emphasised the need for ensuring availability of foodstuff especially to the vulnerable segment of society for which coordination among the provinces was needed.
The court regretted that billions of rupees from the Workers Welfare Fund and the Employee Old-age Benefits Institution were being spent on luxury vehicles, foreign tours and five-star hotel lodging when the money could be used for constructing cheap houses for workers.
The court directed the departments concerned to submit in 10 days reports on measures ensuring availability of essential food items to the poor.
GEO TV: The bench directed law officers of the four provinces to assist it in reaching a conclusion whether it could bracket together all FIRs containing allegations of blasphemy for eventually quashing the proceedings into these FIRs by the apex court.
The court issued the directive during the hearing of a petition filed by Geo TV seeking its intervention to halt a hate campaign and provocations against Geo and Jang Group. The petition was moved by Independent Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd against the backdrop of a campaign launched against Geo TV by rival media groups for airing an objectionable content in its May 14 morning show “Utho Jago Pakistan”. The petition requested the Supreme Court to order law-enforcement and investigating agencies and lower courts across the country to submit to the apex court copies of all criminal complaints, FIRs and petitions containing allegations of blasphemy levelled against the morning show hosted by Dr Shaista Lodhi.
Akram Sheikh, representing the Geo network, said that about 38 blasphemy cases had been registered against the channel.
Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt said the cases were at the stage of investigation and there was a need to consider whether the petition came under the enforcement of fundamental rights.
Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2014