$5 bn embezzlement case: CJP questions where did funds for quake victims go

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Saqib Nisar on Wednesday questioned where the funds for earthquake victims had gone. During the case hearing, an official of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) told the court that the organisation is facing difficulty in getting ownership of the land. “If we get the ownership, the project will be completed in two years,” the official said.

The CJP remarked paternal and maternal uncles of officials had been employed in Erra. The CJP left for Balakot after hearing suo motu proceedings of alleged embezzlement of $5 billion financial assistance extended by the international community for rehabilitation of 2005 earthquake survivors.

The CJP asked the Erra official what the earthquake victims would do for two years. “Will the poor people stay under the sky for two years?” he asked. He further remarked that the former finance minister should appear before the court and share details of where the money was spent.

While referring to Finance Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan, the CJP asked him whether the public funds were made a part of national treasury or not. “What happened to Balakot?” he asked. Khan responded that the funds for development programmes are released on yearly basis.

The CJP then asked him about the funds received from foreign aid. Khan said that Pakistan received $2.89 billion as foreign aid, adding that he did not have the record for funds received from within the country.

The ERRA representative said that government released Rs1.9 billion while donors released Rs100 billion funds. He also said that Erra completed 10,563 projects, adding Rs5.3 billion had been spent on development projects since 2006. “We need an additional Rs37 billion for the completion of projects,” he said. The CJP questioned whether $5 billion was a small amount. All paternal and maternal uncles of officials have been employed in Erra, he said.

He then asked as to how long it took to travel to Mansehra. To which, the Erra official said that it takes at least four hours. The chief justice then announced to travel to Balakot to personally review the situation there. Following the decision of visit, all the cases fixed for hearing were left over. On March 19, the CJ took suo motu notice of alleged embezzlement in over $5 billion financial assistance extended by the international community for rehabilitation of the survivors of the devastating earthquake of 2005.

Our correspondent adds from Mansehra: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said he would not compromise on fundamental rights of the people come what may. "Wherever the fundamental right is undermined, I will act against it. The victims have been deprived of health and education facilities since the earthquake of 2005," he declared in his less than two-minute speech to the members of the District Bar Association.

The chief justice visited the New Balakot City Housing Project being developed for settlement of survivor families of the so-called 'Red Zone' and Civil Hospital in Balakot as well as King Abdullah Teaching Hospital in Mansehra city.

The chief justice said that he had come to know that no education and healthcare facilities are being provided to those affected by the October 2005 earthquake that hit the Hazara division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. He praised Supreme Court judge Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan, who hails from Mansehra, and said he was a motivational force behind his visit to the district as he believed that justice was not being done to the survivors of the devastating earthquake that jolted the region some 13 years back. The chief justice also briefly visited the District Bar Association on the invitation by its president Basharat Ali Swati. He remarked that he needed the goodwill and prayers of lawyers for the action taken by him.

During his visit to Balakot, the victims apprised him about their miseries and told him that they were still living in makeshift houses without basic amenities. The chief justice comforted and hugged an elderly man, telling him that he was there to address their grievances. "I would take to justice those responsible for your agonies and that is why I am here to hear you," the chief justice said. The survivors raised slogans in support of Justice Saqib Nisar for his decision to visit Balakot.

During his visit to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, one Mohammad Arif complained that the capacity of the hospital was reduced to 285 from the approved 500 beds due to corruption by Erra.

District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Zeb Khan and social activist Sheeraz Mehmood Qureshi, on whose application the suo moto notice was taken, also accompanied the chief justice.