ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over customs authorities for keeping oil tankers detained for nearly three years in connection with an Iranian oil case, observing that the prolonged seizure of potentially inflammable cargo posed serious safety and humanitarian concerns.

Hearing the matter, a three-member bench headed by Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi questioned the rationale behind the prolonged detention of tankers allegedly carrying inflammable material.

“If a fire is caused by someone’s cigarette, who would be responsible?” the judge remarked, noting that the continued impoundment of such vehicles could pose grave risks.

The court also observed that the drivers of the detained tankers were likely rendered unemployed due to the prolonged impoundment.

Dispute over nature of cargo

During the proceedings, counsel for customs, Wasim Sajjad, argued that the detained tankers were involved in smuggling Iranian petroleum products.

However, counsel representing the importer maintained that the cargo did not constitute petrol but rather light aliphatic hydrocarbons.

Justice Roshan Khan observed that hydrocarbons could be chemically processed or mixed to produce petroleum products, terming it a significant commercial activity.

The bench noted the need for clarity on the nature of the substance before proceeding further.

Court orders laboratory testing

Subsequently, the court directed that laboratory testing of the hydrocarbon material be conducted within 15 days. It further ordered that if the test results were found to be in order, the tankers should be released under appropriate security arrangements.

The court also instructed that the relevant forum decide the matter within 30 days following the submission of the laboratory report.