HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court has directed the Senior Member of the Board of Revenue (BoR) and private respondent M/S Paradise Real Estate Pvt Limited to submit the mother entries of the land in Jamshoro district where the Bahria Town Karachi-2 project is being developed.
The court issued this directive on a petition filed by Salahuddin, who requested the court to restrain the respondents from any sale and purchase in BTK-2 and its extension.
According to sources, the bench, comprising Justices Nadeem Akhtar and Khadim Hussain, had earlier directed the Senior Member BoR to submit the entire chain of the land’s owners, from the first to the last title deed holder.
However, the court noted that the orders were not being complied with and questioned the Additional Advocate General (AAG) Allah Bachayo Soomro as to why the entries were not submitted.
The AAG said that he had personally submitted some documents in this regard while Farooq H. Naek submitted a copy of power of attorney executed by the respondent M/S Paradise Real Estate in favor of his client Bahria Town Karachi and insisted that M/S Paradise was the actual owner of the land.
However, Justice Akhtar asked the AAG and Naek for the mother’s entries, but they failed to provide them.
The court then asked the company’s Chief Executive Officer Zulfiqar Memon for the mother entries, from the first to the last title holder.
The judge said that the CEO being the owner of the land must have all the entries and directed him to submit the same on the next date of hearing along with his comments.
Meanwhile, Fayyaz Ali Metlo, counsel for the petitioner, pointed out that the subject land was forestland, as stated by the Secretary of Wildlife and Forest in the comments.
He added that Sehwan Development Authority and Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) had wrongly approved the project. He requested the court to stay the project until the matter was decided.
Another petitioner, Naeem Ahmed, who was appearing in person in an identical petition, urged the court to pass the order.
Salahuddin, the primary petitioner, contended that the proximity of the BTK-2 projects to PAF Base Bholari compromised the safety of defense installations.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the hearing and set the next hearing for April 26, 2023.
