SC seeks govt assurance over ‘no army role’ in business

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa Wednesday remarked that everyone should operate within their mandate and sought an assurance from the attorney general that defence organizations would confine themselves to defence-related matters and will not run businesses.

A three-member bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa — heard a case concerning commercial activities on the defence lands in Karachi.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali were the two other members of the bench.

The chief justice observed that builders take profit while the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) turns a blind eye. Addressing Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, he said the army had started marriage halls and other businesses. “Let the army do its job; let the courts do their job,” the CJP remarked. The attorney general submitted that the principle was that everyone should do their own work.

“If you have such instructions, then assure the court,” the chief justice told the attorney general.

The counsel for the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) told the court that the building from where the dispute started belonged to the Board but the allottees sold the land in their own names through fake documents.

He submitted that a five-storeyed building now stood there. At this, Justice Mazhar observed that the five-storeyed building was being built while the ETBP was watching it as a silent spectator.

Justice Isa observed that illegal constructions were not possible without the connivance of Sindh Building Control Authority adding that the assets of SBCA inspectors and above officers should be checked.

Similarly, the chief justice said the Karachi sub-registry’s assets should also be audited by the FBR, adding that all assets in excess of income should be given to the residents of demolished buildings.

During the hearing, when DG Sindh Building Control Authority appeared before the court, the chief justice inquired as to how many inspectors and officers were there in the SBCA. The DG replied that the SBCA had a total of 1,400 employees, including 600 building inspectors and 300 senior inspectors.

Meanwhile, the court noted that illegal constructions and residential buildings were being commercialized in Karachi adding that builders walk away with profits, while the Sindh Building Control Authority turns a blind eye.

The court further noted that the SBCA reaches for demolition after the building gets completed affecting the rights of residents.

The court held the building approval details should be displayed on the board website during construction.

The court held that the Sindh Building Control Authority could not use the situation to its own benefit. The court held the SBCA should not delay in issuing the certificate of completion of the building. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing for date-in-office (Indefinite period).