Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered constitution of a joint team comprising of members of the concerned departments of federal, provincial and city governments for removal of encroachment in Karachi.
At its Karachi Registry, a larger bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, comprising of Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Muneeb Akhtar heard the case on encroachment and occupation of government land in Karachi.
The bench also summoned Karachi Mayor, representatives of cantonment areas, Karachi Development Authority and other concerned departments on Saturday at the Karachi Registry and also issued notices to IGP and DG Rangers Sindh, in this regard.
The CJP remarked that all that makes a city beautiful has vanished from Karachi. He stated the country is being destroyed for money and bribery. The court ordered that Saddar area should be purged of encroachment for making it a model area in the city.
Justice Mushir Alam said that action against encroachment should begin from Saddar area and asked Mayor Wasim Akhtar to tell the court how this action should be initiated.
The latter told the court he is powerless to take such an action that prompted the court to issue order for constitution of a joint team to take action against encroachment. It also summoned the heads of civic bodies to appear in the court to hammer out the mandate for this team.
During the hearing, CJP also had a dialogue with Mayor on Pakistan Quarters issue, where police resorted to baton charge during an eviction operation on the court orders, some days ago.
"Mr. Mayor! Why was scene created. For God sake! Do you want to fuel ethnic violence in Karachi," CJP Mian Saqib Nisar remarked as he made it clear that eviction process was not against any ethnic group.
The CJP addressed Karachi Mayor and stated that top leaders of your party arrived at Pakistan Quarters. "What was it," he asked. He said he believed the issue could have been resolved, had the Mayor approached the court.
The CJP rejected the notion that people would become homeless if they were evicted. He remarked if it is allowed, people would start constructing houses on the parks.
He also showed dissatisfaction over cleaning of nullahs and asked whether these were cleaned completely when it was assured to do so during his visit to inspect the nullahs.
Wasim Akhtar told the court he removed encroachment from parks and even demolished the illegally-constructed marriage halls. When Justice Mushir Alam pointed out that encroachment are rampant in Saddar area of the city, he regretted Saddar area is out of his jurisdiction as it falls in cantonment area.
The CJP said that when the court wanted to remove the encroachment, area people were used as human shield, an obvious reference to Pakistan Quarters. He said that court wanted to resolve the encroachment issue in such a way that it should not hurt the poor people.
Later, IGP and Chief Secretary Sindh met CJP in his chamber and informed him that report on encroachment in the city would be submitted today (Saturday) in the court.
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