KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday dismissed the bail applications of a provincial lawmaker belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and others in a case pertaining to giving over 900 jobs in the Karachi Port Trust.

The National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference against MPA Javed Hanif, who had served as the KPT chairman before being elected to the provincial assembly, former ports and shipping minister Babar Ghauri and six others for their alleged involvement in making around 940 illegal appointments in the KPT which allegedly caused over Rs2 billion losses to the national exchequer.

The MPA, who was arrested in July, and four other suspects had filed their bail applications in court.

NAB says over 900 ‘illegal’ appointments in KPT have caused over Rs2bn loss

After hearing arguments from both sides, a two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro dismissed the applications of the MPA and two others.

Heavy traffic

The Karachi commissioner on Friday submitted a compliance report before another bench of the SHC on the issues of heavy vehicles and the deteriorating traffic situation in the provincial metropolis.

In the previous hearing, the SHC directed the Karachi mayor and commissioner to sit with all stakeholders and come up with a comprehensive plan.

The commissioner submitted in his report that a technical committee had been notified by the transport secretary for this purpose. He also mentioned its short- and long-term plans.

The report said that in the first phase, there was a need to create awareness among people about traffic rules, amend relevant laws and removal of encroachments from link roads and footpaths.

It added that establishment of truck terminals at the Northern Bypass and National Highway and construction of elevated express road from China deep-sea port to the Jinnah Bridge were included in the long-term plans. “There are 107,000 heavy vehicles plying on roads of provincial metropolis,” the report said.

A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar directed the petitioners and other stakeholders to file their objections till Jan 10 after they questioned the report.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2018