The Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Hussain, issuing notice to Railway Director Technical, has directed him to appear before the court in person and explain his reason for previously failing to appear before the court.
The CJ issued these orders when the deputy Attorney General informed the court that the director had been notified of the court orders. The court was proceeding on a petition challenging the suspension of train service to the Narowal-Chak Amru Section by Pakistan Railway.
Earlier, Pakistan Railway informed the court that the track was in a dilapidated condition and the Railways Ministry could not approve funds for its rehabilitation. The rehabilitation cost of the track was Rs 423 million and rehabilitation work would be started on the track as soon as the government approved the funds. The counsel for the respondents further told the court that the railway track structure was aged in the section and that trains could not run safely on it, hence train service had to be suspended as a security measure.
They also told the court that the track was going in loss and in 2001 the train service had been stopped to minimise loses and finally the train service was suspended on August 30, 2005. The respondent counsel however, assured the court that after the track upgrades service would be restored. Petitioner Javaid Qamar contended that the public at large had suffered due to the suspension of train service from Narowal to Chak Amru Section.