KARACHI: Residents and builders of Nasla Tower, a 15-storey residential building in Karachi which the Supreme Court has ordered to demolish for encroaching on the land meant for a service road, have requested the court to review its order.
Counsel for the defendant, Salahuddin Ahmed, said that the building did not encroach on any public land and, instead, was built on a land allotted to its builders. He requested the court to reverse its order.
On June 16, the Supreme Court directed the Karachi commissioner to demolish the building and file a compliance report.
Appearing on behalf of the building owner, Ahmed argued that 780-square-yards land in question was leased out in 1956 and for the remaining portion the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society had issued a letter in their favour.
However, Justice Ijazul Ahsan said that around 400-square-yards land meant for the service road was also used for constructing the high-rise and there was no additional lease and it could not be legalised on the basis of a letter issued by the society.
He further said that the report of the commissioner also highlighted irregularities in the allotment of the land in question and said that there was a 280-foot-wide service road.
The lawyer said that the entire tower might not be demolished since a major portion of the plot was leased. However, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that the building could not be sustained after partial demolition.
The court also turned down a request of Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan for a temporary stay against the ongoing anti-encroachment operation around the Gujjar and Orangi Town drains.
He submitted that it was a human disaster as around 40,000 people had been displaced overnight and requested the apex court to stay the drive for a week since the federal government was willing to discuss the issue with the chief minister and other provincial authorities for rehabilitation of the affected people.
The top judge asked him that they could sit with provincial authorities to chalk out a plan within a week, but the demolition drive could not be stayed.
