Top court accepts Karachi’s administrator’s apology; withdraws dismissal order

Karachi: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday accepted a formal apology tendered by Karachi’s Administrator, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, and withdrew its order issued earlier in the day to remove him from his position for using harsh words in the courtroom.

Barrister Wahab, who also acts as the spokesman for the Sindh government and the Law Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister, appeared before the apex court in the case related to “Gutter Baghicha”.

The Gutter Baghicha is an open green amenity space in the old area of Karachi as efforts have been on since long to conserve it for improving environmental conditions for Karachiites. The issue frequently features in court hearings related to civic matters of the provincial capital.

Earlier in the day, an exchange of harsh words took place between Karachi’s Administrator and judges of the apex judiciary who were hearing the case at the Karachi Registry of the Supreme Court.

At one point, the Administrator asked the court if they should leave the government as there was no other option available to them given the harsh nature of the observations made by the bench against the government during open trial.

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed of Pakistan asked Barrister Wahab to keep quiet, while observing the Administrator was engaging in politics in the courtroom.

He asked the Administrator to immediately leave the courtroom while saying that he (Administrator) would be removed from his position. The Chief Justice asked Barrister Wahab whether he was the city’s administrator or a political leader.

He said the city’s administrator was appointed to serve the citizens and should discharge his duties impartially as this position was not meant to do politics.

The Chief Justice said the Administrator had failed to fulfil his duties as his conduct was more like that of political leaders and not that of a public servant.

The court directed the Sindh CM to appoint an eligible and impartial person as Karachi’s Administrator as Barrister Wahab was not competent enough to hold this position.

When Barrister Wahab sought an apology from the court, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin, also hearing the case, reminded him that he had been removed from his position while observing that a situation of conflict of interest would emerge if he continued to hold this position.

“You are not the state, as you are the government ... you should differentiate between the two as the situation of conflict of interest would emerge if you continued to hold this position,” the court observed.

Later, after a brief recess during the hearing, the court accepted the apology of Barrister Wahab and withdrew its order to remove him from the position of Karachi’s Administrator.