Amnesty schemes ruin country: SC.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that it was the authority of Parliament alone or the provincial assembly to approve amnesty schemes, but here, every institution was introducing these schemes on its own.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa said that it was the amnesty schemes which had ruined the country in an organized way. One-time amnesty for the smuggled vehicles had been introduced for hundred times, he added.

The court also expressed annoyance over the non-appointment of the attorney general of Pakistan. Justice Faez Isa remarked that there were more than 5,000 lawyers of SC but the executive was still unable to choose the one for this post.

The court said that as per the law, this important slot couldn't be left vacant. Whether a bargain was being made on the appointment of the attorney general, it asked.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa dismissed the appeal of Pakistan customs against the decision of the appellant tribunal for de-seizing of a smuggled vehicle on payment of duties.

Justice Isa remarked that the customs office was incompetent to stop the smuggling of vehicles due to which it used to announce the schemes.

He further said that the court could summon record from Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) regarding the number of amnesties to date. How these schemes could be announced under the law of customs, he asked.

The court observed that the smuggling of gold and silver was understandable but how the vehicles could be smuggled. Vehicles with...