Supreme Court of Pakistan Orders Transfer of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund to Public Account

Islamabad 26-10-2024: The Supreme Court of Pakistan, led by Mr. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, has directed the transfer of funds collected for the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams from the Supreme Court of Pakistan account to the Public Account of the Federation. The decision follows a review of the fund’s purpose and usage, which originally aimed to support the construction of these critical infrastructure projects.

The fund, amounting to over PKR 23.67 billion as of October 4, 2024, was primarily gathered through public donations and has since earned significant interest. However, the Supreme Court of Pakistan noted that the account’s contributions represent only a fraction approximately 3.2% of the total projected cost for both dams, now estimated at PKR 740 billion. The larger share of the funds available stems from government-provided interest.

In response, the Court has ordered the closure of the account previously maintained by the State Bank of Pakistan in the name of “The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund.” The funds will now be redirected to the Public Account, where they will be held in a specially created sub-account to earn additional interest from private banks.

The Court clarified that any future withdrawals from this fund must exclusively support dam construction. This ruling concludes all petitions and applications related to fund management, as well as the requirement for periodic progress reports from WAPDA on dam development, given the dissolution of the Implementation Bench originally overseeing these reports.

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