KARACHI, June 5: The administration has decided to beef up security on and around court premises in the city and submit a comprehensive plan in this regard to the Sindh High Court.

A meeting held to consider security was held in the high court committee room on Thursday. The meeting was called by acting Chief Justice Azizullah M. Memon but was presided over by Justice Khalid Ali Z. Qazi on behalf of the SHC administration committee in his absence.

The meeting was attended, among others, by special home secretary Kamran Dost, Mohammad Riazuddin, additional home secretary, deputy inspectors-general of police Munawwar Gul, Aleem Jafri, A.D. Khwaja and Ghulam Qadir Thebo and Saddar Town police officer Amir Ahmad Shaikh. SHC registrar Syed Jamil Raza Zaidi was also present.

The meeting was told that a larger number of police personnel had already been deployed on court premises across the city and a plan for beefed-up security would be submitted to the high court shortly.

Meanwhile, another meeting was held to consider the problem of load-shedding and measures to lessen its impact on court proceedings. Presided over by Justice Qazi, the meeting was attended, among others, SHC registrar Syed Jamil Raza Zaidi, KESC director for transmission grid station Ibrar Ali, general manager for load-shedding Muhammad Adil, distribution director Jamil Gul Sher and general manager Arshad Iftikhar.

The KESC officials said it was facing a shortfall of 850 megawatts. It was being supplied 500mw by the Water and Power Distribution Authority and had to shed 350mw by rotation. The consumers have been divided into four groups for load-shedding, the details of which are displayed at each customer service centre.

The officials promised to exercise greater vigilance to prevent power breakdowns at the SHC and the Supreme Court registry, which are already exempt from load-shedding. The City Courts and the courts at Malir would be exempted from load-shedding from 8am to 5pm.. There would be no load-shedding from 12 midnight to 5pm at residential complexes of judges.