Expressing extreme displeasure over the Karachi commissioner for submitting incomplete details about the city’s thoroughfares which have been blocked for security purposes, the Sindh High Court (SHC) directed him to submit a fresh report.
A division bench, headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar, had taken up two identical petitions pertaining to installation of barriers on the thoroughfares of the city. One of the petitions was filed by Rana Faizul Hassan, a civil rights campaigner and secretary general of an NGO, United Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
The petitioner submitted that barriers were placed across large number of streets of Karachi restricting freedom of movement of citizens, law enforcers and the emergency workers. He stated that recently this city witnessed 70 per cent of roads being blocked by placing barriers or other hurdles by residents of areas including JamshedTown, Gulshan-e-IqbalTown, NorthNazimabadTown, KorangiTown, where a state within state has been created.
He submitted that this situation being illegal caused a kind of anarchy in the city. He said on the pretext of security measures walls had been raised along the streets leading to the Bilawal House which had caused citizens to suffer. The petitioner pleaded the court to direct the respondents to remove barriers from the streets.
In response to the court’s direction, Commissioner Shoib Ahmed Siddiqui submitted a report showing details of the roads which were blocked for the security purposes.
The report said Clifton’s Khayaban-e-Touheed was barricaded for security of General (r) Pervaiz Musharraf and only residents of the locality are allowed to use this street. BoatBasin’s street where British Consulate is situated was blocked due to British Consulate’s security. Some streets of Darakshan were blocked with cemented andiron for security of President Mamnon Hussain’s residence. DHA’s 5th Central Lane Phase II, Arambagh, Shahrah-e-Kamal Atta Turk were also blocked.
After going through the report, the bench observed that the report lacked in details and directed him to submit complete list of the blocked roads.
