Dam fund.

IT appears that the controversial dam fund that was created in 2018 by the former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar is still very much intact. It has apparently even matured over the years to slightly more than Rs16bn. The current chief justice has asked the auditor general to audit the fund forthwith in coordination with the State Bank. It appears that the Supreme Court wishes to put to rest frequent speculation regarding where the funds collected under the 2018-19 dam construction drive had gone. It may be recalled that the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee had, over the past six months, asserted on multiple occasions that it would summon former CJP Nisar to inquire about the state of the fund.

While the PAC's insistence on summoning the ex-CJP was likely more a political stunt meant to embarrass the former top judge, it has also prompted those responsible for the fund to be more transparent about it. This is a commendable development. The dam fund had been a misguided, overly optimistic attempt at solving a problem that...