KARACHI, Sept 19: The city district government submitted in the Sindh High Court on Wednesday an ambitious plan for the construction of a parking plaza on the site of Shahabuddin Market.
A copy of the design was to be furnished to the heritage department but it failed to send its representative in response to a court notice.
Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Ali Sain Dino Metlo, who constitute the bench seized of a petition moved by the shopkeepers of Shahabuddin Market, ordered that the notice issued to the department be repeated for Thursday.
The bench had earlier passed an order against the forcible shifting of the petitioners to a makeshift site in the Lines Area pending construction of the new plaza.
Advocate Manzoor Ahmed stated on behalf of the city government that the plaza design was in harmony with the adjacent Empress Market, which has been declared a heritage site.
CNG stations
The bench also adjourned the hearing of a number of petitions questioning the installation of gas stations in residential areas.
CDGK counsel Manzoor Ahmed maintained that like a petrol pump or a medical store, a CNG station was in the nature of a facility meant for the residents of a street or neighborhood. It was not a purely commercial undertaking and served a vital need of the residents.
The petitioners said gas stations were not only commercial but were also a health and environment hazard unlike other commercial establishments. There were additional reasons for not allowing them in residential areas. Besides, once a residential plot had been declared commercial, it could be put to any commercial use, including construction of a shopping complex.
Notice to SHO
Another division bench consisting of Justices Mushir Alam and Abdul Rashid Kalwar issued notices to the station house officer of Gulistan-i-Jauhar and other respondents for Sept 21 in a petition moved by Abdur Rashid Khan through Advocate Ghulam Qadir Jatoi. The petitioner alleged that his son, Adnan Durrani, on remand in a murder case, was being forced to make a self-incriminating statement and he too was being harassed. Directing the police to act in accordance with the law, the bench asked the respondent officials to submit their comments on Sept 21.
Smuggling case
A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justices Muhammad Afzal Soomro and Mrs Qaiser Iqbal, on Wednesday dismissed a state appeal against the acquittal of three businessmen in a narcotics smuggling case, adds PPI.
Accused Sajjad Muhammad, Rehan Akram and Ali Raza were acquitted by the Special Anti-Narcotics Court Karachi on Jan 18, 2006 observing that the evidence against them was not sufficient to convict them.
They were charged with smuggling 50kg narcotic substances through an export consignment of oil filters and other auto parts on July 10, 2004. The consignment was seized at the Karachi port after sniffer dogs detected narcotics mixture in the oil filters.
The state counsel stated that the trial court order was contrary to the facts and against principles.
It acquitted the accused despite the facts and HEJ Research Institute reports showing the existence of narcotic substance in oil and the state counsel’s appeal to convict the accused for the offence.
The counsel for the accused stated that the sample of oil allegedly containing narcotics was tested by a government laboratory, which cleared the consignment. The HEJ research institute test report could not be relied upon as it was not a notified laboratory and prayed to dismiss the state appeal. The division bench after hearing arguments of both counsel dismissed the state appeal, observing that the government laboratory report was negative. It said the HEJ research institute was not notified and according to the CNS Act 1997 its report could not be considered.