The Sindh High Court on Thursday clubbed petitions of Jamaat Islami and Pasban challenging amendments to the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations 2002 with a previous petition under hearing of the court. A two-judge bench, headed by acting Chief Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, issued notices to the parties for April 22. Jamaat Islami’s lawyer argued before the court that a residential plot could not be used for commercial activities. “There is a procedure to convert the residential plot into commercial,” JI lawyer argued. “It required an NOC from the Master Plan, KDA and other concerned departments as well as meeting necessary preconditions,” the lawyer said. “After the amendment in regulations, only the Sindh Building Control Authority’s (SBCA) NOC required to convert the residential plot into commercial,” JI lawyer said. He said the amendments in rules have bypassed the entire procedure of the land use. Pasban’s lawyer argued that the SBCA goes beyond its mandate by amending the building regulations.