KARACHI: The Supreme Court today ordered Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to terminate Murtaza Wahab as Karachi administrator while observing that he (Wahab) had “prima facie failed to fulfill his duties”.
A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin issued the order after an exchange of arguments with Murtaza Wahab while hearing numerous important matters pertaining to unauthorised and illegal construction, encroachments of amenity plots, conversion of residential properties into commercial ones and the issue of two private hospitals allegedly running their health facilities on amenity plots at the apex court’s Karachi registry.
A petition filed in 2014 seeking possession of Hindu Gymkhana, a matter about Nasla Tower’s demolition, applications about rehabilitation of affectees dislocated due to the anti-encroachment drive in Karachi and the cases regarding the Karachi Circular Railway were fixed for hearing.
Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan, Advocate General of Sindh Salman Talib Ud Din, Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon, Wahab and senior Director of the anti-encroachment department Bashir Siddiqui were present during today’s hearing.
During the hearing of a matter related to the Gutter Baghicha, Justice Amin remarked, “These are state lands [and] not your personal property. You will have to return them. If we don’t take them [back] then someone else will. You will return the lands,” Justice Amin thundered.
“Should we leave the government?” Wahab questioned, saying that “major observations” are being made by the court about the provincial government matters.
“Silence yourself mister, what are you saying? Don’t do politics here,” the chief justice reprimanded the administrator.
Nasla Tower
Earlier today, the court ordered authorities to register a case against officials involved in approving the building plan of the 15-storey Nasla Tower in Karachi, and directed that departmental and criminal proceedings be initiated.
AGP Khan informed the court that steps had not been taken yet to provide compensation to the affectees of Nasla Tower and requested the Supreme Court to ensure the same.
Subsequently, the court ordered the seizure of 780 square yards of the land Nasla Tower was constructed upon and directed the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) official assignee to stop its sale.
At the outset of the hearing, Commissioner Iqbal Memon informed the court that five of the building’s floors had been demolished and 400 labourers were working on the task. “Four hundred people can not manage to demolish a single building?” questioned the chief justice.
The commissioner responded that the building’s internal structure had been demolised and only the exterior could be seen.
The chief justice then questioned the commissioner about mentioning that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) obstructed the demolition work in a report that he submitted to the apex court.
“We have stopped people in a civilised manner. Abad (Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan) also protested [and] we dealt peacefully [with them],” the commissioner said.
“[Why] have you written [that] a Samaa TV reporter is interfering?” Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin asked.
The commissioner reiterated that affairs were being dealt with in a peaceful manner and people were stopped from approaching the building by imposing Section 144.
