The Lahore High Court sought reply from authorities concerned again despite issuing notice to Transparency International Pakistan in a petition against unlawful payments of Rs 961 million issued by Press Information Department (PID). The court issued orders on Thursday as service of its earlier orders issued on April 18 could not be fulfilled.
The court issued notice to Midas and Transparency International Pakistan for their reply and asked a Deputy Attorney General to ensure reply and comments from the respondent government functionaries. The petitioner a citizen Saeed Ahmed Cheema through Ashraf Hussain submitted that Transparency International Pakistan in a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan has pointed out that former PM Raja Pervez Ashraf seven days after the expiry of his constitutional period as a PM illegally, unlawfully and without authority approved a contract for Rs 961 million on account of a forged/bogus Publicity Campaign which was turned down in July 2012 by the secretary ministry of Water and Power.
He said according to the letter Pervez Ashraf approved a contract of Rs 961 million for Midas without the adoption of the settled procedure laid down in Public Procurement Rules, 2004. This contract is a part of the publicity contract/campaign of Rs 1,637,000,000/- of the Pepco and National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC). The petitioner said that the illegal, unauthorised and unlawful approval and process for a bogus/fraud publicity campaign by the respondents was liable to be set aside.