JI moves SC against procurement of 138 expensive vehicles for ACs

The Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday challenged the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) judgment before the Supreme Court in which the SHC had dismissed a petition against the procurement of 138 expensive vehicles for assistant commissioners (ACs) and vacated the interim stay order on the procurement of the vehicles.

Filing a petition against the SHC’s judgment with the SC, JI MPA Mohammad Farooq mentioned that the provincial government had issued a notification through its services department on September 3, 2024.

He said the notification had announced the sanctioning and allocation of public funds amounting to Rs1,991,892,000 for procuring 138 4x4 double cabin vehicles for the revenue department’s ACs across the province. This allocation is unnecessary and arbitrary, and constitutes a gross misuse of public funds, he added.

His counsel Usman Farooq said that the notification in question reflects the misuse of taxpayer money, which rightfully belongs to the residents of the province, and which is collected to provide essential services such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and public safety.

He said that the funds are being diverted towards the purchase of luxury vehicles, a decision that provides no tangible benefit to the province’s residents, particularly those living in impoverished areas where public services are desperately needed.

He also said that the country’s financial situation has significantly worsened over the past few years, with inflation rates skyrocketing to record highs, fiscal deficits widening and foreign reserves shrinking.

Pakistan’s economy has been further crippled by external debt obligations, forcing the government to seek repeated financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund under stringent conditions that require public expenditure to be curtailed, he added.

The counsel said the Government of Pakistan is under immense pressure to control fiscal deficits and enhance revenue generation through taxation. However, he added, the economy is being eroded by inflation, making life increasingly difficult for the residents.

He said that essential goods such as food, electricity and fuel have become unaffordable for a large segment of the population, and poverty levels continue to rise. Public funds should be utilised with extreme caution, and allocated towards projects that directly benefit the people, such as improving healthcare facilities, upgrading education systems, creating employment opportunities and addressing infrastructure deficits, he added.

He also said that the use of nearly Rs2 billion from the provincial budget for the procurement of luxury vehicles for government officers during a time of significant final strain on the economy amounts to a clear disregard for public interest and fiduciary duties of the government.

The procurement process must be conducted with the highest standards of transparency, ensuring that funds are spent judiciously and that no conflicts of interest or corrupt practices taint the process, he added.

He stressed that in the absence of such safeguards, the impugned notification remains open to abuse and exploitation for private gain, further depriving the public of their rights. The SHC had earlier dismissed the petition due to lack of jurisdiction. The provincial government had taken the plea that transportation/conveyance is an integral requisite for the functioning of the government, and that the last such procurement had taken place in 2010/2012.

The advocate general had said that irrespective of the fact that the last such acquisition had been 15 years ago, the efficient operational life of such vehicles is about 200,000 kilometres, and that the said vehicles had been operated for more than four times of the said quantum.