The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday suspended the Sindh High Court’s order of sealing and demolishing the Moon Gardens residential complex in Karachi.
The Supreme Court instructed the builder of the complex to deposit security of 50 million rupees in cash and Rs 50 million bank guarantee in the next 15 days. The Sindh High Court had issued orders to seal and demolish Moon Gardens which is said to have been illegally constructed on Railways Housing property.
The court also issued orders that no further leases for property at Moon Gardens should be issued until the matter was settled and adjourned the hearing.
Talking to media outside the SC building, the counsel of Moon Garden’s builder, Khamosh, said that the court had ordered him to deposit Rs 50 million cash and remaining Rs 50 million as bank guarantee. On the occasion, the builder said that he would obey the apex court’s order. Later, police arrested Khamosh from Islamabad but he was released after a short detention.
The residents of Moon Garden apartment had filed a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) seeking an order against their eviction from the building. The court had rejected the petition for not being maintainable. However, it court ruled that the petitioners could become a party in the case of Railway Co-operative Society. The Moon Garden is an apartment located in Gulistan-e-Johar comprising at least 180 leased flats. But the Pakistan Railways claims the land belongs to it.
The inhabitants of the building were evicted on Tuesday from their flats which they had bought with their hard-earned money. Since then, the affected people have been staging protest demonstrations on roads.
