A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nasir, was hearing a case pertaining to conservation, purification and taxation on extraction of underground water by bottled water companies.
Authored by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, the judgement also required the provincial governments as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory administration to set up separate and distinct accounts to receive the amounts collected under the water charges.
Hearing a suo motu case regarding ground water exploitation by mineral water companies at the apex court, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said mineral water companies were using ground water, but the government didn’t move to fix them.
Chief Justice Nisar reprimanded the representative, saying that the Supreme Court-mandated Water Commission did a lot of work, “the government(s) are provided with everything but they don’t want to do anything.” “The Punjab government lacks both the will and the capability,” the chief justice remarked.
People’s lives are associated with water.
The apex court declared that the reply submitted by the Punjab government was an attempt to eyewash the judiciary and ordered the federal and provincial governments to submit a fresh response within 15 days.
“We cannot furnish the report until 256 testimonies are not complete.” Upon hearing this, the chief justice ordered to submit the aforementioned report in the court when it iss complete and disposed off the case.
It was informed to a three judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in a suo motu case pertaining to foreign properties owned by Pakistani nationals.
Director General FIA, Basheer Memon, submitting report in the apex court, said that 1,211 Pakistani citizens own 2,154 properties in the UAE and about 345 people have been served notices.
The DG said that 79 people declared their properties in tax returns, while 97 individuals disowned their properties in the UAE.