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KARACHI, July 11: The Sindh High Court ordered a non-governmental organisation on Wednesday to pay Rs50,000 as costs for failure to appear in person or through counsel when a division bench took up its urgent petitions against builders and developers.
The petitioner, Integrated Social and Human Awareness, had sought urgent hearing of its petition alleging that the builder/owner of plot 10/1/1, Arambagh Quarters, had raised additional four floors against a sanctioned construction plan of ground plus two floors. It said the Karachi Building Control Authority, which was also made a respondent, was taking no action against the unlawful construction.
The respondents appeared when the case was called by a vacation division bench consisting of Justices Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari and Khilji Arif Hussain but neither the petitioner nor its counsel entered appearance.
Dismissing the petition in default, the bench awarded Rs50,000 as costs and warned the counsel that he would not be allowed to appear in any other case if the amount was not paid.
Another petition moved by the NGO against allegedly unlawful construction on plot number 205-D, Mateen Plaza, PECHS Block 2, Tariq Road, was also dismissed for non-appearance. Advocate Rao Sarfraz Khan appeared for the KBCA.
Detainee released
The bench disposed of as not pressed a petition against the detention of Dr Ali Raza Zaidi when Advocate Haider Imam Rizvi informed it that the detainee had returned home. According to the release order placed before the bench, the federal review board found his continued detention under the Security Act untenable at its meeting on July 7.
Dr Zaidi was deported from Dubai and picked up on his arrival at the Karachi airport on June 19, 2006. The Federal Investigation Agency denied his arrival or custody but the President’s House told his father in response to an application that Dr Zaidi did arrive in Karachi on June 19, 2006.
Contempt proceedings were initiated against the FIA official concerned and a federal attorney conceded that Dr Raza had been detained under the Security Act and that his detention had been sanctioned by the federal review board consecutively for two three-month periods.
The board, the court was finally informed, would meet again on July 7 to consider his continued detention.
Al Akhtar plea rejected
The bench rejected an application for urgent hearing of a petition moved by Al Akhtar Trust chairman Hakim Mohammad Akhtar and his trustee son, Mohammad Mazhar, against the inclusion of their names in the exit control list.
The petitioners said their trust came under a cloud after the 9/11 twin tower attack in New York and its accounts were frozen in May 2003 for alleged financial assistance to Al Qaeda. Subsequently, their names were placed on the exit control list, as a result of which they had not been able to perform Haj or Umra for three years.
The bench said the matter could be considered after the summer vacation.
Free will couple
A petitioner couple seeking quashment of a case lodged by the girl’s father was asked to submit a rejoinder to the comments filed by the complainant and police by July 24.
Gulbano Buledi and Babar Malik said they had married of their free will in Hyderabad in November 2006.
The respondent father said Gulbano had married Wahid Bux Buledi in October 2006 at Naukot, Mirpurkhas. She ‘remarried’ in November 2006 and fled to Karachi.
He lodged a criminal complaint in December 2006 after a jirga declared her ‘kari’.
