ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued contempt of court notice to Director General Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources for contemptuous remarks in ministrys reply regarding the case on purchasing British Petroleum assets at exorbitant price. The court directed him to file reply today (Wednesday) as to why not action should be taken against him for writing insulting remarks against the apex court. The bench ordered Secretary Petroleum to file report of former Petroleum Minister Usman Aminuddin. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the petition filed by former Ameer Jamat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed regarding alleged purchasing of British Petroleum Company (BPL) assets on exuberant rates. Sher Mohammad Khan, DG Petroleum Ministry had written some contemptuous remarks in the ministrys reply. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday remarked, The case has been pending in the court and you are writing insulting remarks about the apex court and the high courts. He asked the DG when Adnan Khawaja was appointed MD OGDCL then had you protested against his appointment? How you dare to write such thing and this is a joke with the courts, Justice Ramday said and asked have you written this letter on the direction of someone or yourself?. The Chief Justice asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq, who appeared along with the DG Petroleum that you were also responsible, as you did not care to examine the reply before submitting. The CJ said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, former Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami, who had filed the petition under Section 184(3) apparently has no interest, instead he wanted to save the national wealth from being spent illegally with the nefarious motives. Qazi Hussain has pointed out in his petition that OGDCL and PPL intended to purchase the shares of British Petroleum at $800 million, which they have sold at meagre price in 2002. The Chief Justice observed that the official authorities could not be allowed to undermine the apex court authority and Sher Mohammad Khan has committed contempt under section 3 of Contempt of Court Act read with Article 204 of the Constitution. It is worth mentioning here that the former minister in his 26 pages report, which is available with the Finance Division has mentioned that President Pervez Musharraf, ex-Premier Shaukat Aziz and privatisation minister Salim Altaf had forced him not to resist the British Petroleum (BP) deal for buying Occidental Petroleum shares in Badin field, whose assets were being sold at a throwaway price in 2002. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, former Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami has filed a petition through his counsel Syed Husnain Qazi. In the petition, he claimed that the government of Pakistan has first sold the assets of the same company at a low price and than buying it back at higher price which is self evidentiary that this whole process has been done by inflicting huge financial lose on the state of Pakistan. He argued that the government earlier sold BP assets at very low rate a few years back but now buying the same assets at a high price, thus causing loss of $800 million to the national exchequer.