KARACHI, June 8: The stand-off between the city government and inter-city bus transporters has taken a new turn as the latter has refused to shift their illegal bus terminuses from the city.
The Supreme Council of the All Pakistan Transporters (SCAPT) rejected on Saturday the decision of the city government on shifting of inter-city bus terminuses from the city to its outskirts.
In a press release, the SCAPT termed the decision of the city government “unjustified.” SCAPT leaders reached a consensus at a meeting that the government should allocate land within the city for a general bus stand, and till then transporters be allowed to operate their buses from inter-city bus terminuses in the city.
It said a countrywide meeting of transporters had been convened on June 14, where a committee comprising two members from each province would be set up to solve the problems of transporters.
Sources in the government said the decision to shift illegal bus terminuses to the outskirts was taken in the light of the decision of the Sindh High Court in a constitutional petition (D-1943) filed on December 13, 1999, by the Sindh Airconditioned Bus Owners Association and the Sindh-Balochistan AC & Non-AC Bus Owners Association through their Vice President, Haji Mohammed Iqbal Husain Jumani.
Transporters had moved the High Court praying it to direct the respondents not to shift the present bus terminuses, ie, i) Shahzob near Shahzob Hotel, Sabzi Mandi; ii) Jumani Arcade; iii) Lea Market; and iv) Lines Area, Saddar.
The petitioner also prayed the court to grant permanent injunction restraining the defendants, their subordinates and employees not to stop the petitioners from using the bus terminuses which had been under their use for long.
The respondents were the Sindh Government, Home Secretary, Commissioner Karachi and DIG Traffic Police.
The court dismissed the petition in limine along with miscellaneous applications stating: “Upon the above discussion, it was found that this constitutional petition was not only misconceived and not maintainable but was also without any substance.”
The court in its order also observed: “The petitioners without any permission or authority had established bus terminuses at four places mentioned in para-5 of the petition for the purpose of parking their buses for picking and dropping passengers.”
The sources said the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town administration, with the help of police, removed encroachments and the terminus of Quetta-Karachi buses from in front of Shahzob Hotel and Jumani Arcade on University Road, following the decision of the Sindh High Court.
The city government, the sources added, decided to remove all the illegal bus terminuses of inter-city buses to comply with the court order.
However, transporters not only rejected the city government’s decision to shift the inter-city bus terminuses but also refused to follow the court order, which, the sources said, was contempt of court.
The sources said now that transporters had refused to shift inter-city bus terminuses from the city it was expected that transporters would resist action by the city administration.
In view of the situation, the sources said, a contempt of court case would be prepared and it would be filed against those who would resist the removal of bus terminuses.
The sources said, after the court order, the inter-city bus terminuses in Lines Area in Saddar and Shidi Village in Lyari would also soon be removed by Lyari and Saddar Towns’ administration with the help of police, as they had also been declared illegal.
The sources added that the city government and police were holding meetings to discuss what should be done about illegal bus terminuses of local public transport because various such terminuses belonged to the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, but these had been encroached upon by the transport mafia.