COURTESY HT OCT 17

Pak court questions Imran govt on construction of Kartarpur Corridor

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartrapur, Pakistan. FILE PHOTO
Press Trust of India

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Lahore : A Pakistani court has questioned the federal government on the construction of the Kartarpur Corridor in Punjab, directing the authorities to explain whether the project was “not an intervention” in the affairs of the provincial government.

During a hearing on a petition against undue delay in the construction of Lahore-Narowal Road, Lahore high court chief justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Thursday asked a federal law officer as to who was responsible to construct the road ---federal or provincial government.

The law officer said the matter of releasing funds for the construction of the road in question did not fall within the ambit of the federal government.

Chief justice Khan asked: “If construction of the road was the subject of the province, how the federal government constructed and controlled the project of Kartarpur Corridor. Do the governments work on their personal wishes or under the law?” the judge directed the law officer to tell the court whether Kartarpur Corridor project carried out by the federal government “was not an intervention in the affairs of the province of Punjab.”

The judge said the court may issue a notice to the prime minister if the meddling on the part of the federal government in the affairs of the province was established.

“We would issue a notice to the prime minister if necessary,” he said.