SC seeks comments over Gwadar Concession Agreement

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court has directed chairman Gwadar Port Authority and Secretary Ports and Shipping to file till December 8 para-wise comments over the issue of award of contract to a Singapore company for developing the Gwadar port.

The directive was issued on a joint petition in super cession of its own initiative taken earlier through suo motu.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur-Ramday heard the constitution petition filed by Muhammad Zakir Khan & others vs The Federation of Pakistan & others.

The bench observed in its order that prima-facie strong and convincing arguments have been incorporated in the petition to persuade this Court to grant the relief, which was prayed.

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Sikandar Bashir Mohmand and Mehmood A. Sheikh, AOR appeared on behalf of the petitioners and prayed that the Concession Agreement between Gwadar Port Authority and Port of Singapore Authority Gwadar private Ltd, should be declared as annulled and cancelled as it violated the laws and the objectives for which it was created.

They said that the Federal Government and the Gwadar Port Authority be directed to resume the possession, operation and management of the Gwadar Port and all of its facilities.

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, the counsel, read out the contents of the agreement.

Earlier, the apex court had taken up a suo motu notice on failure of the PSA in developing the port despite incentives provided by`the government. But now it would hear the pending pleas.