ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday directed the US firm to give in-camera briefing about the security features of its lamination paper being imported in Pakistan.
IHC Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui resumed hearing in a petition moved against awarding a contract to a US firm for provision of lamination paper to the Department of Immigration and Passports for making machine-readable passports and issued these directions after hearing the arguments of both the sides.
Advocate Salman Akram Raja, the counsel for petitioner, management of Reliance Company a French firm, during the hearing argued that security features of lamination paper of his company are better than that of the US firm.
However, US firm Security Laminates Opsec’s counsel Advocate Maqbool Elahi negated this claim of French firm.
On this juncture, the judge directed him to explain the security features of lamination paper of the US company.
Elahi informed the court that higher authorities are in America and this briefing should be held in-camera.
Salman Akran raised the objection over in-camera briefing but the court rejected his objection.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier Director General Immigration and Passport Zulfiqar Cheema had appeared before the court and informed about the irregularities committed by former interior minister Rehman Malik in the department.
Zulfiqar Cheema informed the court that in the past, blue passports were issued to the people who were not entitled for it and the same were issued even to workers of cycle repairing shop on the directives of former interior minister but the present administration had cancelled these passports.
In this petition, management of Reliance Company — the petitioner — had moved the court against awarding a contract to a US firm for provision of lamination paper to the Department of Immigration and Passports for making machine-readable passports.
The company had challenged awarding the contract to the US company, Security Laminates Opsec.
He contended that the contract was awarded in violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.
Reliance Company Chief Executive Officer Sameer Baig through his counsel maintained in the petition that his client got the highest points for quality when its lamination paper was sent to a laboratory after the immigration department and the interior ministry sought bids for paper for passports through an advertisement.
But later, the contract was awarded to the US company without informing his client.