KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) Friday maintained its yesterday's order of suspending interior ministry's notification against the day-long ban on use of motorcycles in Karachi, DawnNews reported.

The court said that if there was any terrorist threat, the ministry should have taken other counter measures to overcome it.

Criticising the rationale of interior ministry's notification, the SHC said that how can a common man who commutes by a motorcycle be a terror-threat to the country.

Chief Justice of the SHC Mushir Alam said that interior ministry’s decision would have affected lives of millions of people in the city as most of the people in the city travel by motorcycles.

Advocate General Sindh told the court that “99 per cent of the motorcycles on the roads of Karachi were unregistered.”

He said that the interior ministry placed a ban on motorcycle riding in the port city because there was a threat of terrorism.

Moreover, he said that last year on the same day city's peace was dismantled.

The chief justice of the SHC late Thursday had issued the order on a petition filed by SHC Bar Association President Anwar Mansoor Khan against the ban on riding motorcycles in the provincial capital.

The court had also summoned provincial Home Secretary, IG police and the Advocate General to appear on Friday.

The interior ministry had  also banned use of motorcycles in Quetta on Friday and authorities in Balochistan announced that the ministry’s order would be implemented.

Decision challenged in BHC

The decision of interior ministry to ban motorcycle use and pillion riding in Quetta was challenged in the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday. BHC would hear the case on Monday.

The decision was challenged by a member of executive committee of Federal Chamber of commerce and industries Naseeb ullah Tareen.

The petitioner was of the view that interior ministry's decision was cruel and people have been badly affected by it. He pleaded the court that the it should put restrictions on such decisions in future so that people of Balochistan can get relief.