April 24, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1429

KARACHI, April 23: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to the verification officer of the National Alien Registration Authority (Nara) for May 13 on a petition pertaining to Pakistani citizenship for 37 Bengali-speaking people.

Petitioner Mohammad Muslim, along with 36 others, has moved the SHC for Pakistan citizenship under the Neutralisation Act.

The counsel for the petitioners submitted to the court that his clients were living in Pakistan but since the fall of Dhaka, they were not being considered as citizens of Pakistan.

He stated that his clients held Pakistani NICs and enrolled in voter lists. He submitted that they were eligible for Pakistani citizenship and entitled to all facilities guaranteed under the Constitution.

He prayed to the court to restrain Nara from taking any coercive action till the final disposal of the petition.

The division bench comprising Justice Ms Qaiser Iqbal and Justice Syed Mehmood Alam Rizvi observed that the petition was pending since 2005 and the birth certificates produced by the petitioners were directed to be sent to the officer concerned for verification. The bench said that the report of the officer had not been received yet, thus show-cause notice be issued to all those concerned.

CNG station case

A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the AG Sindh, the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA), the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and others on petition filed against the suspension of an NOC for setting up a CNG station and preventing construction of the station in a residential area by the Sindh ombudsman.

Petitioners Mohammad Tahir Qureshi and his three partners, had moved the SHC against the ombudsman order under which construction of the CNG station was stopped and the NOC from the KBCA, issued to the petitioners to convert the residential plot No.591 in the Gujrat Cooperative Housing Society, Jamshed Town, Karachi, into a commercial plot for the purpose was suspended.

The petitioners’ counsel submitted to the court that his clients had obtained the requisite licence from the OGRA and NOC from the KBCA and CDGK.

The division bench comprising Justice Azizullah M. Memon and Justice Khalid Ali Z Kazi issued notices to the respondents for May 7.—PPI