The Supreme Court (SC), on Tuesday, issued an order to all the relevant authorities to continue their anti-encroachment operation in Karachi in a case against illegal encroachments and revival of the metropolis. The directive was issued by Karachi Registry of the apex court, to the Sindh chief secretary. He has been ordered to oversee the operations along with ensuring that relevant departments cooperated on the anti-encroachment drive. The court ordered to remove all encroachments from the city, including from Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim, and stated, “Our dream is to revive Karachi in its real shape.” The bench even warned that no institution was to interfere in the ongoing operation. Justice Mushir Alam also observed, “restaurants and businesses have sprung up on small plots.” “There is no place to walk in the streets,” he sighed. The bench held the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) responsible for not doing its assigned job, which was to bring the city into its real shape.
Published in Daily Times, February 27th 2019.
