ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the capital administration to continue with its ongoing drive of vacating around 45 government offices functioning in residential houses.

The apex court also ordered the federal government to submit a comprehensive report to the court after finalising the campaign.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, had taken up a case relating to the use of residential houses for commercial purposes as well as encroachments and roadblocks created by the government offices, private residences and some embassies in the residential sectors of Islamabad.

Senior counsel Shahid Hamid, representing the Capital Development Authority (CDA), submitted a list of the 45 government offices, which would be shifted from the existing premises. They included three Nadra offices, the office of the ministry of petroleum, FBR intelligence office, an EOBI guesthouse, National Institute of Disaster Management, Pakistan Railways, PEIRA, a Wapda guesthouse, two offices of CADD, Pakistan Post, the federal ombudsman office, an Election Commission office, ministry of law, FBR House, Kashmir Affairs, finance ministry, Anti Narcotics offices, National Savings, Federal Audit Office, FIA office and the ANF investigation cell.

The report said 217 premises were subject to non-conforming use had been sealed in the capital city.

Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman told the court that the prime minister had set the deadline of May 31 to relocate all the government offices from the residential buildings.

The citizens have been informed through the media that the CDA would seal any building if it was not brought into conforming use. This message has produced fruitful results and violators are voluntarily bringing their premises into conforming use. So far, 525 premises have been brought into the conforming use by the owners/occupants. Now the total number of building under the non-conforming use is 953 which was originally 1,695, the report claimed.

The CDA has conducted successful sealing operations against restaurants, boutiques, parlours and showrooms except some government offices. The remaining non-conformers largely comprised diplomatic missions, lawyers, clinics and media houses.

With regard to the 44 diplomatic missions and the offices of the international non-governmental organisations, the CDA has already taken up the matter with the ministry of foreign affairs with a request to ask them to shift to the Diplomatic Enclave or other commercial areas. Notices have also been issued to the owners of buildings rented to diplomatic missions.

Despite the allotment of plots to a number of foreign missions in the Diplomatic Enclave, they are still operating in the residential areas.

The report also explained that CADD had formed a committee on March 15, 2016, to propose a detailed work plan for the relocation of private educational institutes.

When the attention of the court was drawn by Advocate Dr Aslam Khaki, representing the civil society, towards the blockade of a road by the FIA headquarters for security reasons, Justice Saeed observed, “exposing sensitive buildings was not our job and we cannot make buildings of sensitive institutions a target for terrorists but the violation of law will also not be tolerated and it will be fully implemented to achieve the objectives.”

After ordering a fresh compliance report, the court adjourned further proceedings to the first week of June.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2016