Breach of embankments: Flood Commission given more time to complete investigation

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted six-week time to the Flood Commission, constituted by the apex court, to investigate the alleged breach of Tori and other embankments during floods. A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing a suo motu case against unauthorised diversion of floodwater through breaches in the embankments of barrages and canals by influential people during devastating floods last year.
The court inquired from Marvi Memon, one of the petitioners, that if she had no objection over the performance of the flood commission, it would give another six weeks to complete the task. Marvi said the commission was doing an excellent job and its members had been visiting the sites of breaches in embankments of barrages and canals. The chief justice said another six weeks time would start after the completion of eight weeks time earlier given to the commission.
During the proceedings of this case many constitutional and legal questions were raised that needed to be answered by a fact-finding commission and instead of constituting a commission comprising judicial officials the court deemed it appropriate to appoint senior retired officers who had command and experience in dealing with the matter, which had been highlighted.
Therefore, the chief justice had constituted a four-member commission to probe into incidents of breaches in embankments of barrages and canals allegedly by influential persons in recent devastating flood. The commission comprised retired federal and provincial secretaries including A K Lodhi from Sindh, Fateh Khan Fajak from Balochistan, Khawaja Zaheeruddin from Punjab and Azam Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Qazi Sajid Additional Registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan was appointed as facilitator of the commission.
The court had authorised the commission to record witnesses and investigate the relevant records. The court had also ordered the four provincial chief secretaries to extend full support to the commission. The cabinet secretary was asked to cooperate with the chief secretaries. The Survey of Pakistan and secretaries of irrigation and relief commissioners had also been directed to provide all possible facilities to the commission.
The court had decided to form the commission despite the findings of an inquiry commission appointed by the Sindh government, which had said in its report that breaches in Tori and Moolchand Shah Bunder bunds were caused by nature, and were not man-made. The controversy, the court had said, had not been highlighted in reports of certain commissions formed by the provinces and, therefore, it was appropriate to constitute the commission comprising experts instead of judicial officers.
The apex court had taken suo motu notice of the breaches on the letters of Deputy Chairman of Senate Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali and Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, senior advocate Supreme Court, while PML-Q MNA Marvi Memon and Zahida Thebo Mehar filed petitions in this regard.