SHC extends stay against handing over Baghe Ibne Qasim

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday extended its interim stay order against the handing over of Baghe Ibne Qasim to a private builder till May 23 and directed the counsel to file counter affidavit and their replies on the next date of hearing.

The court was hearing the petitions of Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar and PTI leader Imran Ismail, who challenged the local government’s notification in which 130 acres of Baghe Ibne Qasim in Clifton area was taken over from the KMC and handed over to private builder M/s Bahria Town for adoption. According to the notification, the existing staff deployed at the Baghe Ibne Qasim and aquarium will continue to serve at the same place and the salary of such staff will be paid by the KMC.

Petitioner's counsel Sameer Ghazanfar submitted that the park was the property of KMC while the provincial local government department unilaterally and without taking the KMC into confidence or having done in consultation has issued the impugned notification and letters, including the agreement.

He submitted that under Section 74 of the Sindh local government Act, 2013, it is only the institution or service maintained by a council which can be transferred to the government whereas the park in question neither falls in the definition of the institution nor in the service.

Sindh Local government, however, defended its notification regarding handing over the possession of Bagh Ibne Qasim from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to the private builder and submitted that no any harm or loss to general public had been caused due to transfer of park to private builder.

The SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Junaid Ghaffar, granting time adjourned the hearing till May 23 and continued the interim stay order.