Supreme Court restricts sale, transfer of Pakistan Railways lands
Observes Karachi-Sukkur track poses threat to lives of passengers
Photo: File
The Supreme Court has restricted the sale, transfer and lease of any of the Pakistan Railways lands.
“Not even an inch of the department’s land can be sold,” Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ruled Monday.
He expressed anger and disappointment over the performance of the department.
The top court questioned the railways secretary if he had taken a contract to kill people. “Nothing has happened to you or any other minister and only the poor people are dying,” the judge said.
All that your officers are doing is selling land, the chief justice retorted. “If you can’t run the department, just resign.”
The court observed that more than 80% of the Karachi-Sukkur track was dysfunctional. Running trains on it means putting the lives of passengers at risk.
Justice Ahmed called Railways Minister Azam Swati’s comments on the Ghtoki train crash irresponsible and suggested the prime minister should himself look into the matter.
He warned that if an ordinance regarding railways lands was passed, the court would strike it down.
The Supreme Court also sought a report on railways performance from the federal government.
