KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Sindh High Court’s order of banning the round-the-clock movement of heavy vehicles in Karachi.

The chairman of the Supreme Council of All Pakistan Transporters, Asif Mahmood, told Dawn over the phone from Islamabad that a three-judge bench of the apex court granted the plea against the SHC order allowing the heavy vehicles’ movement during night hours.

He said the Supreme Court had in 2007 banned the movement of heavy traffic from 6am to 11pm.

However, he said, the SHC exceeded the scope of the SC order and imposed a ban on round-the-clock movement of heavy vehicles and their entry into the city.

He said the movement of heavy vehicles had already started in the city after 11am as the SC had set aside the SHC’s restraining order.

A two-judge bench of the high court had imposed the ban while hearing a petition filed by Faisal Bangali and other concerned citizens against relevant authorities for failing to enforce the ban on the movement of heavy traffic on roads during the day.

They asked the court to issue directives for authorities to improve public transport and introduce alternatives to help commuters and reduce the burden on the existing transport. The court was asked to order authorities to strictly conduct fitness tests of vehicles running on city roads.

The bench issued notices to the secretaries of the transport department and local government, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi Development Authority, Defence Housing Authority, Clifton Cantonment Board and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency to file their comments on the petition.

The petitioners submitted that they were perturbed by the present situation of traffic in the city, which was deteriorating day by day.

They stated that the apex court had passed an order directing the DIG of traffic police and the municipal authorities to immediately stop heavy vehicles from plying on roads during the day to maintain smooth flow of traffic. Subsequently, the city commissioner banned the movement of heavy traffic from 6am to 11pm for three months.

Nevertheless, they complained, heavy traffic was still freely plying on roads during the specific timings, taking a heavy toll on smooth flow of traffic and posing an imminent threat to lives of people, the petitioners lamented.

The petitioners said the respondent authorities were bound to enforce the court orders for the improvement of traffic and safety of the public, but they had miserably failed to discharge their duties and implement the orders.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2017