The Supreme Court Tuesday issued directives to deposit returns from the non-performing loans worth Rs 54 billion to the dam fund as banks had asserted that the loans borrowed from them were not liable to be paid.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar also ordered to constitute a special bench to determine and sort out the pending amount to be paid by individuals and companies which had got loans worth billions of rupees written off by banks in 2002. However, the court gave a deadline of two months to the individuals and companies if they want to deposit the pending amount in the Registrar Office of Supreme Court in order to avoid any consequences. In 2018, the Supreme Court had summoned 222 beneficiaries for their alleged involvement in getting loans written off by commercial banks, and subsequently ordered the recovery.
In 2002, the loans were revoked on the basis of a circular issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) after then finance minister Shaukat Aziz approved the loan write-off scheme during the regime of former president Pervez Musharraf.
Regarding funds recovery from certain influential people, the chief justice asked “Why haven’t any funds been recovered from Ishaq Dar, Fawad Hassan Fawad, PML-N’s Pervaiz Rasheed and Ataul Haq Qasmi?”
Meanwhile, the court ordered the Ministry of Housing and Works to investigate the alleged illegal residence of Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Aamir Zulfiqar Khan. The CJP expressed anger and called the IGP to the rostrum. “You had come to launch an operation on the Lal Masjid, and here you are occupying flats illegally. It is the residence of CDA’s member which you have occupied,” the top judge said. To which the IGP replied that he was not aware of that fact.
The hearing was then adjourned for an indefinite period.
Published in Daily Times, January 9th 2019.
