ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to chief of the National Highway Authority (NHA) as well as to the chief secretaries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the case relating to the Margalla Hills tunnel project.

The court moreover ordered detailed reports from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and officials from the federal government regarding progress on the said project.

A three-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the case.

Filed earlier this month by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who represents the federal capital in the Senate, the case opposes the government’s plan to build a tunnel through the Margalla Hills to link Islamabad with Haripur.

During the hearing, the petitioner told the bench that the governments of Punjab and KP had arrived at an agreement regarding the project.

The President of Margalla Hills Society Roedad Khan told the court that for the project to be completed, the hills would have to be partially cut through.

He added that the NHA was working on the project with undue haste, and not in accordance with the normal procedural pace for government projects.

The CDA's lawyer denied Khan's allegation before the court.

The hearing ended with the chief justice ordering officials of the federal government and the CDA to submit detailed reports regarding the progress on the project. Notices were moreover issued by the bench to the Chairman of NHA and to the chief secretaries of Punjab and KP.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned to October 1.