Daily Times

The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Karachi registry heard the city’s rehabilitation case ordering clearing of encroachments has on Monday summoned Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah and castigated him for not producing any results to reclaim the city.

“We have been trying for a long time now to tidy up the city but to no avail,” said Cheif Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed during a dialogue with CM Murad Ali Shah.

Is it a metropolitan city? The angry CJP asked rhetorically referring to the dilapidated Sohrab Goth, an entry point into Karachi. Is that how a metropolitan city is supposed to look and is that how other metropolitan cities look? He asked.

Tell us what’s your plan? the CJP inquired from the CM to brief the bench on how the government is running the city. Separately earlier today the same bench heard a relevant petition on Clifton private hospitals’ alleged land violation and ordered the Karachi Development Authority to rid all the amenity plots in the city of the encroachments.

The top court heard the petition, by petitioner Shah Muhammad, which stated that Clifton’s Ziauddin Hospital has devoured 3,500 yards of state land has encroached upon the service road.

Hearing the arguments, the apex court summoned the senior director Master Plan, Waqar Memon, and with him the city’s master plan to verify the claims made by the petitioner. The civic authorities just simply do not want to discharge their duties, said the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

The Supreme Court also directed the civic authorities to knock down the Nasla Tower within a week’s time. An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed gave this direction while hearing cases at the Karachi registry.

“Why hasn’t the Nasla Tower been pulled down?” asked the chief justice, expressing displeasure over the non-implementation of the SC order. The court ruled that no any kind of concession would be allowed in the case.