SC directs to make Zulfiqarabad Oil Terminal operational

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered to make Zulfiqarabad Oil Terminal operational and directed the Sindh chief secretary to resolve the issue personally, ARY News reported.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the Zulfiqarabad Oil Terminal case in the Supreme Court Karachi Registry, here today.

At the outset of the hearing, the lawyer of the Karachi Municipal Corporation said that the oil terminal has been built but the vehicles are being parked outside.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah in his remarks said that the shopkeepers want to get shops for free, the shops have been set up but the shopkeepers are not ready to go. On this occasion, the tanker owners present in the courtroom informed the court there is no facility at the terminal.

“There is no electricity, no garage, no workshop, how we go there,” they added before the SC bench.

The shopkeepers said that they have been asked to build the shops by themselves. The CJP got furious on the occasion and asked what has happened so far? Is this a joke? It’s been 15 years, the issue is not being resolved yet.

Expressing anger at the administrator KMC, the CJP remarked, dishonesty happening everywhere, your people are asking for money from shopkeepers. If you can’t build an oil terminal then there is no justification to remain as an administrator, the CJP remarked.

The administrator said that the KCM is giving space, the shops will be built by the shopkeepers themselves as they are short of funds. The SC bench directed the chief secretary to work out a solution to the problem and monitor it.

The apex court also directed the project director to activate the Zulfiqarabad oil terminal and hand over the shops within four months. The chief justice also directed the chief secretary to look into the matter of the Zulfiqarabad oil terminal in his personal capacity.

The court also barred trailers of other goods, including ghee, from entering the city.