Supreme Court orders removal of billboards all over Karachi

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered removal of all advertising billboards all over the city.

An apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, was hearing a case pertaining to illegal installation of billboards on public and private properties as well as roads across the metropolis.

The hearing comes days after a video clip went viral showing two motorcyclists hit and injured by a billboard during heavy rainfall in the city. Taking notice of the incident, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shalwani had ordered immediate removal of billboards.

During today’s hearing, the chief justice took the commissioner to task over mushrooming of billboards across the city. Billboards have been put up everywhere in the city, he remarked. “See buildings on Shahrah-e-Faisal, there are unending advertisements,” he said, wondering how people will be living in these buildings.

The commissioner said people have been exploiting public properties in the city and claimed there is a mafia behind all this.

The bench directed Shalwani to take action against all those behind installation of billboards in violation of laws.

Chief Justice Gulzar said it is up to the government to ensure implementation of building plans and lamented that there is no such thing as government and law in the province.