KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ordered the maintenance of status quo on a petition filed against construction of a Jamaat Khana on a plot that had been declared a heritage property in Clifton.

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon also directed the parties concerned to advance their arguments at the next hearing.

Some residents of Old Clifton Quarters — Dr Amjad Siraj Memon, Almas Naveed Qamar and Dara Bashir Khan — have filed a petition before the high court and made the Sindh chief secretary, secretary of the culture, antiquities & archives department, directorate general of antiquities & archaeology, Sindh Building Control Authority, Sindh Master Plan Authority and the owner of a plot near Mohatta Palace as respondents.

The petitioners submitted that they lived near Plot No. 9, CF-15, Old Clifton Quarters, Karachi, Dawat-e-Hadiyah (Qazi House), which is a protected heritage building and situated adjacent to the historic Mohatta Palace.

They alleged that the said plot, measuring 6,343 square yards, was being unlawfully constructed without following mandatory procedure for change of land use as prescribed under the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations, 2002.

They further submitted that the excavation for the proposed ground-plus-three-storey structure would violate heritage conditions, exceed permissible height in relation to Mohatta Palace and pose a serious threat to structural integrity of adjoining heritage buildings and petitioners’ residences.

The petitioners maintained that the ongoing construction infringed their right to privacy, light, air and peaceful enjoyment of their properties, endangering the foundations of their houses and violating easement rights.

They asked the court to restrain the respondents from carrying out further construction and setting aside the impugned approvals.

An additional advocate general (AAG) submitted that the plot in question was a heritage property and the issues related to its lease, title, land use and building approvals fell within the domain of the revenue department and SBCA. However, they had not filed comments yet, he added.

The law officer submitted that upon receiving complaints from the Mohatta Palace Gallery Trust about excavation activities, the heritage department had promptly issued a show-cause notice, ordered suspension of excavation and referred the matter to the technical and advisory committees.

The AAG contended that conditional permission was granted only after due deliberation, subject to an independent structural assessment, strict compliance with heritage guidelines, prohibition of excavation until receipt of a structural report, and that the proposed construction should remain below the height of Mohatta Palace and cause no structural damage to the adjoining protected heritage property.

The lawyer maintained that the department concerned had consistently directed the project consultant to adopt all necessary safety measures and that preservation of the Mohatta Palace remained its foremost concern.

The culture, antiquities & archives department and antiquities & archaeology DG also filed comments, while counsel for remaining respondents sought more time to file replies.

While adjourning the hearing to a date to be fixed in the first week of August, the bench in its order said, “In such circumstances of the case, parties are directed to address arguments on the next date of hearing. In the meantime, they shall maintain status quo.”

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2026