SC expresses anger at Karachi commissioner’s report

Angered by the report of the Karachi commissioner, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday said that it would remove the commissioner over the unresolved matter of the city’s encroachments and lack of development.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed resumed a hearing on the petitions against the encroachments in the city at Karachi Registry.

“You think we will take the deputy commissioner’s report seriously? What type of a report is this?” he asked the chief secretary. “It’s written everywhere that the report is awaited. Chief Secretary sahab remove such officers.”

Barrister Salahuddin, whilst speaking on behalf of the Kidney Hill residents, requested the court to direct the builder to compensate them for selling them encroachments, pointed out that the”maps for them were approved by the Sindh government”.

However, the CJP responded by saying the residents were not children and that one is fully aware of the details of land while buying houses.

After the apex court dismissed the request to grant Kidney Hill residents time before their encroachments are razed to the ground, it was presented a report by the city commissioner related to the YMCA Ground during the hearing.

The Karachi commissioner said that all pending work has been completed except for the installation of lights at the ground. He also presented a report on Shahrah-e-Faisal and Shahrah-e-Quaideen to the apex court.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction over the report compiled by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).

Holding the SBCA is responsible for all illegal constructions in Karachi, CJP Gulzar remarked there is no vacant land in PECHS. “Where did this land come from?” the chief justice asked.

The SBCA director general (DG) said that this land was spotted after the re-allotment of the road.

To this, the top judge remarked: “So does this mean that you would sell this land? What have you been doing? You will even allot Supreme Court building and CM House if you could.”

The building has not been constructed on any nullah as per Sindh Building Control Authority, the commissioner remarked.

The advocate general said that one side of the building is illegal and that would be demolished.

The SC therein ordered the demolition of residential building Nasla Tower on Karachi’s Shara-e-Quaideen.

Nasla Tower is located at the intersection of Shara-e-Faisal and Shara-e-Quaideen.

AC TO INDICT MANDVIWALLA:

An accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday decided to indict former Senate deputy chairman Saleem Mandviwalla and others in Kidney Hills reference on April 14 as two co-accused did not appear in the hearing.

The accountability court’s judge Muhammad Bashir resumed the hearing of Kidney Hills reference of fake bank accounts case where Saleem Mandviwalla and other accused are likely to be indicted today.

A co-accused Nadeem Hakim submitted his plea through the counsel to the accountability court to seek exemption from personal appearance in the hearing.

Judge Muhammad Bashir remarked that the copies of the reference were provided to the accused.

Mandviwalla’s lawyer Barrister Qasim Abbasi told the court that two co-accused Nadeem Hakim and Abdul Ghani Majeed were not present in the hearing.

The judge asked the lawyer to proceed with the arguments in the case. The defence lawyer replied that he will continue with the arguments in the next hearing.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing till April 14.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against ex-Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla in an illegal land allotments case on January 13.

The anti-graft watchdog in its reference stated the accused sold government plots to Abdul Ghani Majeed – son of Omni Group chief Anwar Majeed.

According to NAB, Mandviwalla had purchased fake shares in the name of his frontman by selling the plots.

The national graft buster had also submitted a report to the court which stated that former PIA managing director Aijaz Haroon had also played a key role in selling illegal plots to Abdul Ghani Majeed.

The NAB had nominated Saleem Mandviwalla, Aijaz Haroon, Abdul Ghani Majeed and Tariq Mehmood as offenders in the reference.