From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) ordered on Tuesday to demolish a mosque, shrine and cemetery built on amenity parks’ land near Tariq Road in Karachi.
A case against the construction of Madinah Mosque and other encroachments on the land meant for a park in Tariq Road was heard at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry. District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Administrator East maintained that the mosque was constructed on park land.
Chief Justice Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed expressed anger over the land still being occupied, reprimanding the district administrator over Karachi’s condition.
“What have you done with this city? The city has been built in a way that it now needs to be rebuilt from the scratch, like Poland, Germany and France were,” the CJP berated the district administrator.
He further stated that the area of PECHS had been turned into a huge slum, and tall buildings had been constructed in even the small alleyways.
“What would happen if a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the city?” the CJP asked, adding that millions would lose their lives.
The case for restoration of the Kidney Hill Park was also heard in the apex court.
Amber Ali of Shehri – Citizens for a better environment said that the construction of the Al-Fatah Mosque had restarted on the upper part of the park land. Khawaja Shams, the mosque administration’s counsel, said that the land was obtained from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) through auction.
