Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court has halted the Small Coal Power Project near the Indian Border and referred the case for disposal to a full bench. The verdict followed a string of identical petitions filed by the Lahore Press Club and residents of Sultan Pura challenging the construction. On June 10 the Punjab government acquired 1,188 kanal and 5 marla land in Moza Khaira and Sultan Pura to build coal power plant.
The petitioners said, "It is purely a residential area and more than 1,200,000 people are living in these areas. This project is dangerous to the environment." They also argued that the border area where the construction was supposed to begin was a non-man's land announced by the defence ministry.