CJP Gulzar Ahmed to hear encroachment, KCR cases in Karachi today

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed has arrived in Karachi on Wednesday to led the proceedings of important cases including that of encroachment and Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), ARY NEWS reported.

The chief minister Sindh, chief secretary, Director General Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), administrator Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), cantonment boards and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) officials have been issued notices to appear before the apex court on Thursday (today’s) hearing.

The other cases to be heard by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed during Thursday’s proceedings included china-cutting, occupation of amenity plots and operation against encroachments.

The three-member bench headed by the chief justice would also hear cases pertaining to high-rise buildings, Hill Park encroachments and other matters.

In a previous hearing in December 2020, the Supreme Court directed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to ensure compliance with its order regarding the removal of encroachments in the metropolis and submit a report within a month.

An apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, was hearing the case at the Karachi registry.

Over the course of the hearing, the chief minister informed the judges that the provincial authorities cleared the city’s footpaths of encroachments and removed containers placed outside the CM House for his security.

CJP Gulzar observed the ground realities show that nothing has happened in Karachi. “What steps did you take for Karachi’s betterment and its restoration to its original condition?” he asked the chief minister.

“The citizens of Karachi dwell in a village that the entire city has turned into,” the country’s top adjudicator remarked. “Neither is there any water, nor parks, grounds or roads. There is nothing.”