Islamabad; 04 May 2020 – The Supreme Court questioned on Monday the transparency of the funds being spent to combat the novel coronavirus as it resumed hearing its suo moto case on the pandemic. The court expressed displeasure over the absence of NDMA representative and showed dissatisfaction over the performance of NDMA.
A larger bench was formed to hear the case.
There is a need to conduct an audit of the funds dispensed so far, said Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed. “How are billions of rupees being spent on testing kits, masks, gloves and other protective gear?” If one mask costs Rs2, then what has the government been spending its money on, he asked.
“No practical steps have been taken to fight the coronavirus,” remarked the top judge.
The healthy secretary told the court that the quarantine centre in Haji Camp remains non-functional. Patients have been kept in just one room. He said that the quarantine centre has been shifted to a girls hostel, which has 48 rooms. To this, the chief justice asked for the money spent to turn Haji Camp into a quarantine centre.
Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that the government has opened up mosques and closed markets. No regulations are being followed anywhere, while people who open their shops are beaten with sticks, he said. If you want to practice social distancing, then it should be implemented everywhere, he added.
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Sindh has said that they are allowing 150 factories to open. They should make one uniform policy and then allow all factories to operate, said the chief justice. “Even the situation in Punjab is becoming worse with time.”
Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that they are giving the government a week to form a uniform policy. If they fail to make any policy, the court will give its interim verdict, he added.
He remarked that unity between the federal and provincial governments is the need of the hour. “You can’t run any government with ego and stubbornness.”
The judge suggested that it’s about time transport services are restarted as people are paying more than what airplane tickets cost just to travel from Islamabad to Karachi.
The top judge also expressed his dissatisfaction with the performances of the federal and provincial governments in tackling COVID-19. He said that there is no humanity anywhere. People are asked to pay when leaving quarantine centres in Lahore. They have to pay to receive bodies of their loves ones. “What are NAB and the FIA doing and why aren’t they investigating this?”
The court said the government needs to devise a national policy on the reopening of businesses and summoned a report on it.
It will be decided at the next hearing if the audit of coronavirus funds will be given to NAB or the FIA, the court remarked. The hearing has been adjourned for two weeks.
