ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, the chief executive officer and secretary of the department to appear in person to explain their position in a case pertaining to the railway losses. Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar, a bench of the apex court directed them to turn up on Tuesday (tomorrow).
The top judge took strong exception to the railway’s age-old manual record-keeping system, which he said meant Rs75,000 could easily be siphoned off from payment of a sum of Rs100,000 into pockets with a trifle 25,000 shown in records. Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, a member of the bench, noted the department has been raking in billions of losses, which is evident from its audit report. No state institution is riddled with as much corruption as the railways, the chief justice remarked.
Deploring the railways’ state of affairs, he said the sector the world over is moving ahead leaps and bounds by bringing in bullet trains. Justice Gulzar said one who is interested in the portfolio of the Ministry of Railways needs to travel by train. = DNA
