SUKKUR: The Sukkur bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered immediate halt to stone-crushing plants operating across the province’s mountainous region.

A double bench comprising Justices Aftab Ahmed Gorar and Faheem Ahmed Siddiqui announced its reserved verdict on a petition against illegal operation of stone-crushing plants and quarrying across Sindh and declared ongoing stone-crushing as anti-environment.

The bench sought report on all stone-crushing plants from deputy commissioners, ordered immediate stoppage of stone-crushing across Sindh and said the process of crushing (could resume) only after adoption of environment-friendly methods and registration with authorities concerned as per law.

The petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that the stone-crushing plants were not registered with any government agency and they used the old method for extracting stones from hills for using them in the plants.

Landmines and explosive material (dynamite) were planted at different locations in mountains, which were then exploded manually to break into pieces heavy boulders, they said.

They said that the old method was dangerous for human lives and hazardous for environment, hence it must be stopped immediately and an environment-friendly method be adopted.

Court issues arrest warrants for SALU registrar

The bench issued warrants for the arrest of Shah Abdul Latif University’s registrar and ordered his production in court for ignoring orders issued on a petition filed by law students.

The students’ counsel Ali Raza Baloch said that despite orders, the registrar did not appear before the court. All the law colleges affiliated with SALU had been closed for past three years and the university had failed to implement the court’s orders, putting at risk future of hundreds of students, he said.

The court expressed displeasure over the officer’s attitude and issued warrants for the arrest of the registrar before adjourning the hearing.

Payment of salary to 800 policemen ordered

The bench issued show-cause notices to Sindh IGP, SSPs of Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki and Naushahro Feroze for failing to pay salaries to 800 police personnel of Sukkur region over the past 11 months.

The policemen’s lawyer told the court that the SSPs were not releasing salaries to the police personnel despite court’s orders, which constituted contempt of court.

The court then issued show-cause notices to Sindh IGP, SSPs of Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki and Naushahro Feroze and ordered them to release salaries to the policemen and submit reply in the court on June 1.

In case of non-implementation of the orders, the court warned, it would start contempt proceedings against the responsible officers.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2021