Karachi: The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, said civic conditions in Karachi have degenerated to such an extent that the city needs to be destroyed completely to rebuild it as was done in the case of some countries in Europe after World War II.
The Chief Justice delivered these remarks at a hearing at the Karachi Registry of Supreme Court of a case related to conservation of amenity space in the provincial capital.
Justice Ahmed recalled he had spent 22 years of his life in PECHS (one of the main residential areas of Karachi) and the residential neighbourhood had transformed a lot since then.
He lamented that the PECHS area had been degenerated to such an extent that it had been transformed into a shanty settlement in the city.
He said there was such grave ill-planning in Karachi that a sewerage system, which was primarily meant to serve only two people was now catering to the needs of 40.
He said multi-storey buildings had emerged in small alleys of the city.
The Chief Justice said he was unable to comprehend the ruined state of the city. He said that whether it was PECHS or the area of North Nazimabad, all the residential localities in Karachi were in a sorry state.
While scolding the relevant administration official who failed to protect park area within his jurisdiction in Karachi, Justice Ahmed lamented that the officers had not been discharging their duties in the city diligently, giving the impression that their sole interest was to get pay and privileges.
He said the officials felt content that they had ably discharged their duties by dispatching a few official correspondences here and there while in reality they had no idea even about their own jurisdiction and what was happening there on the ground.
