ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday issued suo motu notice to the National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman and chief secretaries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a case regarding the Margalla Hills Tunnels Project.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the case on Friday during which it also ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and officials from the federal government to submit detailed reports regarding progress on the Margalla Hills Tunnels Project.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed filed the case earlier this month, strongly opposing the government’s plan to build a tunnel through the Margalla Hills to link Islamabad with Haripur.
During today’s hearing, the petitioner told the bench that the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had arrived at an agreement regarding the project.
The President of Margalla Hills Society Roedad Khan told the court that for the project to be completed, the hills would have to be partially cut through. He said that the NHA was working on the project with undue haste, and not in accordance with the normal procedural pace for government projects.
The CDA’s lawyer denied Khan’s allegation before the court.
The bench subsequently adjourned hearing of the case till October 1.
