Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has ordered careful supervision and effective monitoring of WASA activities to ensure quick drainage of rainwater in case of heavy downpour.

She asked all the concerned departments in the province to stay on high alert during the rainy weather and stressed the need for regular monitoring of the stormwater drains and canals. Teams of the irrigation department have been asked to keep a watchful watch on water flow in canals to avoid urban floods.

The chief minister further advised the authorities to guarantee that all the manhole covers in the urban and rural regions be tight and also asked to take precautionary measures in the construction sites so as to avoid any mishaps.

Particular attention will be given to structurally deficient buildings and traffic management and public advisories will continue to be issued across the province.

District administrations were urged to issue notifications for possible roof collapses, while Safe City Authority and CTO personnel to be on full alert to keep the traffic moving on vital roads and highways.

“All field teams should be fully prepared and all departments should remain active and vigilant for the lives and property of the citizens during the rainy season,” Maryam Nawaz said.

Pakistan to start repatriation flights for Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

As many as 22 flights are expected to bring back 5237 pilgrims to different cities of the country on the first day of post-Hajj operation.

The first Hajj flight from Jeddah scheduled to arrive in Sialkot on June 1 morning carrying 391 pilgrims.

On the same day, five flights will arrive in Islamabad, four in Karachi, four in Lahore, and three each in Multan and Sialkot. Two flights are also scheduled for Faisalabad and one for Quetta.

Under the government arrangement, Pakistan’s public and commercial airlines and Saudi airlines will bring back 119,000 Pakistani pilgrims through 471 flights.

“The repatriation process will continue until June 30 to facilitate the smooth return of all Hajj pilgrims this year,” he said.

The constitutional bench of Sindh High Court has expressed severe disapproval over freezing of citizens’ bank and mobile accounts by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and ordered inquiry into the conduct of the officers concerned.

The court directed the Director General FIA to launch an investigation against the officials involved in blocking the bank and mobile accounts of the citizens. It ruled that the probe should be concluded within a period of 3 months and that the officers concerned should not be given any operational responsibility throughout the term of investigation.

Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon said that the fundamental rights of the citizens cannot be reduced on the basis of an inquiry. The court said if there is no direction to block the passports and accounts of the petitioners, the facilities shall be restored forthwith.

The counsel for the petitioners said the FIA had blocked the petitioners’ passports, national identity cards, bank accounts and mobile accounts without any prior warning. The lawyer said that the limits had resulted in substantial losses to the petitioners’ businesses and said that the petitioners had already been cleared by a court in the underlying criminal matter.

“The proceedings under the Anti-Money Laundering Act are of a separate nature from the main criminal case,” the government lawyer told the court. He said that such proceedings did not necessarily end with the acquittal of an accused person.

The court said investigations under anti-money laundering rules might go ahead but any action impacting the fundamental rights of persons must be taken transparently and with due process. It said that a citizen’s passport or financial transactions cannot be subjected to indefinite interference on the basis of an investigation alone.

“The bench also noted that the FIA’s letters to the banks were used as a basis to block accounts even though there was no order of any competent court or authority directing the freezing of accounts. The court said powers under the Anti-Money Laundering Act can be utilised only with adequate legal authority.

The judgement said that exerting such powers without legal sanction would be misuse of authority. The court instructed the DG FIA to probe the conduct of the subordinate officers and start departmental proceedings if evidence of misuse of powers or mala fide intent was revealed.

The high court further cautioned that in case a similar incident comes before the court in the future, contempt of court procedures may be filed against the people responsible.