The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday ordered the Sindh government to stop onward steps for the procurement of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and arms and ammunition for the Sindh Police and issued notice to the Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC), Taxila
The three-member SC bench comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Athar Saeed passed this order while hearing a petition filed at the SC Karachi Registry by petitioner Mehmood Ul Hassan Naqvi. Petitioner Naqvi in his petition claimed that the Sindh Government approved the procurement of 20 APCs worth Rs 8 billion from a company of Serbia, M S Ugo Import of Serbia, over offering heavy sum of money as bribe. The Sindh Government had prior to the purchase of APCs given Rs 650 million to a middle man, who assisted the Sindh Government to reach an agreement with the Serbian firm.
The petitioner stated that in a meeting held on March 15, 2013, under the aegis of former acting Inspector General of Police Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh, it was declared that the agreement was finalised and approved for the purchase of 20 APCs and arms and ammunition for the Sindh Police and the same day the Serbian firm was awarded the contract. The petitioner claimed that the proposed APCs to be bought from the Serbian firm were all used and repaired for sale to the Sindh Government.
The petitioner said the HMC was a reputable institution that manufactured APCs, which were being used by Pakistan Army and even APCs manufactured by the HMC were also exported to other countries. However, Assistant Advocate General of Sindh Ghulam Qadir apprised the apex court that APCs manufactured by the HMC had failed to meet the required needs and it would be tantamount to jeopardising cops' lives by forcing them to use APCs manufactured by the HMC. On this, the apex court in its remarks said that Pakistan Army was also using APCs manufactured by the HMC. The apex court ordered for the stoppage of purchase of APCs from the Serbian firm and issued notice to the HMC Managing Director to produce details about APCs manufactured by the HMC.