ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar on Wednesday left for Balakot in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) for reviewing rehabilitation process after hearing a suo moto case of embezzlement of financial assistance extended for survivors of 2005 Earthquake.
During the hearing at the Supreme Court (SC), an official of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) informed the court of its challenges in acquiring ownership of land, causing delays in the rehabilitation process. He added that if the land is acquired, the project can be completed within two years.
CJP, in reference to the information, questioned the official of the state ‘will the poor people stay under the sky for two years?’
Nisar, while addressing the secretary finance Arif Ahmed Khan, said that the former Finance Minister should appear before the court to explain where the funds went. He added, if the public funds made part of the national treasury or not.
CJP Nisar inquired about what had happened to Balakot and its rehabilitation. The ERRA Official in response said that the development funds were released annually. Nisar further questioned about the foreign aid received. In response the official informed that Pakistan received USD 2.89 billion as foreign aid adding that he didn’t have any records detailing the funds received within the country.
Nisar berated ERRA for not being able to show results by hiring relatives and friends to positions, who were incompetent.
The ERRA official further said that the government had released Rs 1.9 billion funds while the donors had extended Rs 100 billion funds. The ERRA had completed 10,563 projects since 2006, spending Rs 5.3 billion for development.
The official informed the court that an additional fund worth Rs 37 billion was required for projects. In response, CJP questioned if the amount previously used was a small one.
During the hearing, CJP announced his plan to travel to Balakot to review the condition of the rehabilitation process on his expense.
CJP Nisar had taken a sou moto notice case on March 19, pertaining to the alleged embezzlement of $5 billion financial assistance extended by international donors in the wake of 2005 earthquake.