Akhtar refuses to demolish legal marriage halls in Karachi

KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar said on Saturday that the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) will not raze the legal marriage halls in the metropolis, ARY News reported.

“Sindh government should file a review petition on the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding demolishment of all wedding halls, shopping malls and plazas constructed on residential plots,” he said while addressing a news conference in Karachi.

Akhtar said that the buildings asked to be demolished did not encroach but in fact changed their land utility.

He said the KMC razed encroachments on nullah and footpath from the city, on the orders of the Apex Court, but cannot obey the orders of razing marriage halls of the city, until provision of alternate lands.

Earlier in the day, registering a protest over a notice issued by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), marriage hall owners had decided to shutdown marriage halls from Jan 27 onwards for an indefinite period of time.

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On Jan 24, the SC had ordered to demolish all marriage halls situated along three major arteries of the city falling within the remits of Cantonment Board.

The apex court ordered that all wedding halls situated along Karsaz, Shahrah-e-Faisal and Rashid Minhas Road be demolished. It also directed authorities to raze cinemas, commercial plazas and markets in cantonment areas.

Hearing the case, the court summoned heads of Airport Security Force (ASF), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other relevant authorities.

The top court also sought report from heads of the aforesaid institutions within two weeks.