HYDERABAD: A division bench of Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit directed the additional advocate general (AAG) of Sindh to ensure closure of illegal van stands, including that of the petitioner’s, after the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) secretary Hyderabad stated that permissions given in the past for stands already stood cancelled.

While adjourning hearing of a petition till Oct 4, Justice Abdul Maalik Gaddi heard RTA Hyderabad secretary Okash Khalid Memon and then verbally directed AAG Ismail Bhutto to ensure closure of all those illegal van stands. The petitioner had questioned illegal van stands in Latifabad.

The bench, comprising Justice Abdul Maalik Gaddi and Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Aga, took up a petition filed by Arshad Khan represented by Ishrat Lohar advocate.

In response to the court’s last order on the petition, secretary Memon appeared before the court and said that his office had already cancelled permissions for all pick-and-drop points in the city in line with several Sindh High Court orders passed in various petitions.

He also disclosed that even petitioner’s route permit had been cancelled by the Provincial Transport Authority (PTA) Karachi. DSP Traffic Ahmed Qureshi was present.

The bench wondered that when all pick-and-drop permissions had already been cancelled, how such stands were working.

Justice Gaddi asked the AAG to see that all such illegal stands be closed, and adjourned the matter for Oct 4.

A private respondent, Aslam Khan, filed objections on the petition, stating that route permits annexed by the petitioner had been cancelled. He said he was running a rent-a-van service and not a terminal or van stand.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2018