Pakistan: Utility services disconnected to Karachi’s Nasla Tower before demolition
Move follows apex court order to demolish tower over encroachment on service road
Karachi: Water, electricity and gas supply have been disconnected to Nasla Tower following the Supreme Court’s order to demolish the multi-storeyed residential building on one of the busiest roads of Karachi.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the authorities to demolish the 15-storeyed residential building on Sharea Faisal as it encroached on a nearby service road.
The order was issued by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed.
The court ordered Karachi’s Commissioner to use “controlled ammunition blast” to demolish the Nasla Tower building. The court also asked the Sindh government to seek the army’s help for the demolition.
The court said that any people or nearby building should not be affected due to the demolition.
Residents of Nasla Tower protested when essential utility services were disconnected. The leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan also reached the site to express solidarity with the residents, while pleading that the residential building should not be demolished till an alternative arrangement was made to resettle its occupants.
Review petitions dismissed
In June, the apex court ordered the demolition of Nasla Tower as it encroached upon a nearby service road. The court examined the case of the tower following heavy encroachments on the storm water drainage system in Karachi, causing urban flooding during monsoons.
Last month, the Supreme Court also dismissed the review petitions filed against its earlier decision to demolish Nasla Tower. The court was earlier informed that the size of the plot of Nasla Tower had increased from 780 square yards to 1,121 square yards without authorisation.
In the latest hearing, the court also ordered the city’s Commissioner to ensure that the owner of Nasla Tower return the money given by the people to buy residential flats in the building.
Occupants of Nasla Tower said demolition of the building would be injustice to them as they had verified the relevant documents before buying the apartments, and that the tower had been constructed after obtaining all the necessary no-objection certificates from the relevant authorities.