KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the communication ministry, National Highway Authority (NHA), Sindh chief secretary and city commissioner in a petition against the decision to allow heavy traffic on the Lyari Expressway.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry also put the federal and provincial law officers on notice for a date to be fixed by the court office.

Referring to a plan to open the key road link to heavy traffic during off-peak hours, petitioner Syed Fahad Ali submitted that the Lyari Expressway was structurally vulnerable and not feasible for heavy traffic as it has specific design limitations and a defined load-bearing capacity, which may not support the operation of the heavy vehicles.

He maintained that the expressway was without any stops and did not meet standards of highways.

He said there were urbanised congested residential areas on both sides of the expressway and Lyari river flows through the middle of it and in case of any accident, the heavy vehicles may fall on residential areas or the Lyari river, which may result into loss of precious lives.

The expressway is not feasible for heavy vehicles due to design limitations and defined load-bearing capacity, SHC told

His counsel Shahab Imran and Nadeem Shaikh argued that the move in question was solely motivated by revenue generation disregarding the safety and fundamental rights of the public using the expressway.

They contended that no proper traffic impact study/environmental assessment or public hearing has been conducted before taking such decision.

The lawyers were of the view that the existing traffic load of light vehicles was already at a saturation point and allowing heavy vehicles to use the same narrow corridor will not only choke the flow of traffic but also increase risk of fatal accidents.

They further argued that the road width and infrastructure simply did not support dual usage by both heavy and light vehicles simultaneously and such operation was practically impossible and inherently dangerous.

The counsel stated that in 2002 Northern Bypass was designed for heavy traffic and the Lyari Expressway for light vehicles only and this strategic separation was based on sound engineering and safety considerations.

The petitioner asked the SHC to restrain the respondents particularly the NHA chairman, ministry of communication and provincial government from taking or allowing any such steps that may result in severe risk to human life and property.

He also pleaded that the SHC may issue directive for appointment of an independent third-party engineering expert and safety audit to assess the technical capacity, structural design and safety margins of the expressway.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025