KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued a directive to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to remove all barriers from the streets within its jurisdiction.
This order came in response to an application seeking contempt of court proceedings against the DHA for failing to comply with previous court orders to remove illegal barriers.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing the DHA claimed that all barriers had been removed as per the court’s instructions.
However, the applicant’s counsel argued that certain concrete barriers were still present in DHA Phase-I.
The bench instructed the DHA to ensure the removal of these barriers and adjourned the hearing to a later date after the summer vacation.
In 2014, Dr. Mazhar Naeem filed a petition requesting the removal of illegally placed barriers from the streets in DHA Phase-I. In 2015, the SHC disposed of the petition and ordered the DHA to eliminate such barriers.
Subsequently, the petitioner’s counsel filed an application seeking contempt proceedings against the DHA and others for non-compliance with the court order.
In the previous hearing, the SHC had directed the alleged contemnors to submit a compliance report.
During the recent hearing, DHA lawyer Zaeem Haider filed a statement confirming the removal of all blockades as per the SHC’s previous orders.
However, the applicant’s lawyer, Najeeb Jamali, also submitted a statement claiming that barriers still existed in DHA Phase-I.
Jamali further stated that the alleged contemnors disobeyed the SHC’s orders continuously.
Instead of removing the barriers, they had begun constructing a center island on 15th East Street in Phase-I, which blocked the petitioner’s access to the street and disrupted the drainage system.
Furthermore, the bench ordered the DHA to ensure the removal of these barriers to comply with the previous court order.
Moreover, the petition argued that the placement of barriers violated the basic layout of DHA Phase-I and infringed upon the residents’ fundamental rights.
The DHA, however, contended that the barriers were installed at the request of residents due to a serious law and order situation caused by miscreants and criminal elements from the adjacent Azam Basti area.
Source: DAWN
