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| September 12, 2003 | Friday | Rajab 14, 1424 |
SC issues notice on Karachi coast spill
ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: The Supreme Court issued notice on Thursday to the attorney-general on the petition seeking appointment of an independent inquiry commission with the mandate to fix responsibility for allowing a decrepit ship into Pakistani waters carrying tons of crude oil, which created an environmental disaster when it ran aground the Karachi coast.
The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad, took up the constitutional petition filed by an advocate from Karachi, Dr Amjad Bukhari, and ordered the Attorney-General for Pakistan, Makhdoom Ali Khan, to appear on Sept 18.
The court, on the request of the counsel for the petitioner, also summoned Dr Pervez Hasan, an environmental expert as amicus curie, to appear on the next hearing and assist the court.
The SC bench comprised Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.
The petitioner said the breaking up of Tasman Spirit at the mouth of Keamari channel, had caused monumental and irreparable loss to the property, human and marine life and environment.
The counsel for the petitioner said the Greek ship, carrying 67,000 tons of crude oil was unseaworthy and unsafe ship as envisaged by Section 391 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance of 2001, and the Karachi Port Trust unlawfully permitted it to enter into Pakistani waters.
The counsel said a three-month ban had already been imposed on fishing in the area while the residents were still facing the effects of the incident due to increased environmental pollution in the area.
Arguing on the question of maintainability, the counsel contended that raising the issue directly in the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction was possible as there were number of precedents when issues relating to environmental degradation were entertained by the Supreme Court.
The court did not issue notice to the respondents.
The petitioner had impleaded the Federation of Pakistan, the Government of Sindh, the Karachi Port Trust, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, the chief of Maritime Security Agency, the Directorate of Ports and Shipping, the Ministry of Communication and the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation as respondents.
The petitioner said it all happened due to the negligence of the concerned departments, which first allowed a decrepit ship to enter into Pakistani waters, and when it ran aground, the officials did not move at the required speed.
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