KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted bail to former director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Manzoor Qadir Kaka and a mukhtiarkar in a case pertaining to illegal construction of the 15-storey Nasla Tower.

The then SBCA chief and former Jamshed Town mukhtiarkar Khair Muhammad, through their counsel, moved their bail applications before the SHC after the trial court had dismissed their post-arrest bail pleas.

After hearing both sides, a single-judge bench, headed by Justice Amjad Ali Sahito, allowed the bail applications against a surety bond of Rs100,000 each.

On the directives of the apex court, the Anti-Corruption Establishment had lodged a case against 18 people, including then SBCA and Karachi Development Authority officers and office-bearers of the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society in a case pertaining to encroachment upon a thoroughfare, where the now demolished Nasla Tower was illegally built in 2013.

The 15-storey commercial-cum-residential building on Sharea Faisal was demolished on the directives of the Supreme Court for having been built in violation of laws.

Mr Kaka, along with the ex-mukhtiarkar, got interim pre-arrest bail from the special anti-corruption court in July following his return from Canada. However, they had been arrested on July 31 after the trial court had turned down their interim bail.

On Aug 15, the anti-corruption court had also dismissed their post-arrest bail applications.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2023