SC questions why funds for Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal not released as yet

Apex court had ordered shifting of oil terminal from Shireen Jinnah Colony to the outskirts of the city

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) sought on Tuesday reply from the provincial government as to why funds promised for establishing the Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal were not being provided to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Anwar Zaheer Jamali, issued the directions while hearing an application seeking the shifting of the oil terminal from the Shireen Jinnah Colony to the outskirts of the city. The matter will be taken up in the next session.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had initiated proceedings on a letter addressed by a resident of Clifton, Shagufta Bibi, who lived close to the vicinity where the oil terminal is currently situated.



Bibi said the oil terminal had made the lives of Clifton residents miserable as the continuous flow of heavy vehicles did not only cause nuisance but was also causing deadly accidents.

Justice Chaudhry turned the letter into a petition and, ever since, it has been formally heard with other identical applications amalgamated into it.

The biggest issue was that the tankers still had to come to Keamari Port to be filled with oil, added the report. The Zulfikarabad Oil Terminal, measuring 150 acres, is an alternative site for the new station of the tankers. However, it has yet to be made operational.



On Tuesday, a report by Karachi commissioner was filed, stating that some of the stakeholders were not coming forward to contribute money to set up the new terminal.

The court was informed that around Rs300 million to Rs400 million were required for provision of the facilities to the new terminal being set up outside the city. "It has to be managed forthwith, otherwise, the material kept there will be stolen," the commissioner apprehended in the report.

CJ Jamali observed that the matter has been pending in the court for a long time and had to be resolved once for all. The bench directed the advocate-general to discuss the matter with all the stakeholders and submit a report to the court by the next session.