Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has sought comments from the secretary local government, Katchi Abadi director general and SHO Gabool Town on a petition filed against an alleged encroachment on Eidgah (place for Eid prayer) in Bufferzone area of Karachi.

Headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar, the SHC bench was hearing the petition filed by Farooq Ahmed Siddiqui, the President of Jamia Masjid-e- Muhammadia and Madrasa Jamia Qurania, who has moved the court against alleged construction on a plot allocated for  Eid and funeral prayers in Block 15-B, Buffer Zone, Karachi.

Siddiqui has filed an application seeking an urgent hearing of his petition as he maintained that the encroachers have started constructing the boundary wall on the said plot and also installed an iron gate in premises of the plot. While accepting his application, the court issued notices to authorities concerned to come up with their respective replies on March 1, 2017.

Earlier, the petitioner had submitted that he filed a petition in 2009 against the encroachment on Eidgah land on which the SHC had ordered the removal of encroachment and declared that the land could only be used for Eid and funeral prayers. Complying with the court’s directives, the local authorities had removed the encroachment and cleared the entire land, however, the same land has been encroached again, he added.

Siddiqui informed the judges that some other persons have carried out construction with the collusion of area police and the authorities concerned had issued lease for that. He added that he had registered many complaints against the illegal act but nothing has been done in this regard.