School demolition case: SHC seeks comments from Sindh govt, SBCA

Bench clubs together all petitions relating to Jufelhurst School’s demolition

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) sought on Friday comments from the provincial culture and heritage department, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and other authorities on a petition seeking action against the provincial government officers behind the illegal demolition of a heritage building in Soldier Bazaar.

The petition was filed by an NGO, Amity International, which had also earlier filed a petition seeking judicial inquiry into the demolition of the heritage-declared building of the Jufelhurst Government School.

The NGO president, Mehfooz Yar Khan, told the court that not only some police officers were involved in the demolition of the heritage-declared structure but senior officials in the provincial government were also accomplices in the case.



He pleaded that the court order an impartial inquiry to unveil the government officers behind the damage caused to the heritage building and punish them accordingly.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, issued notices to the provincial chief secretary, the culture and heritage department secretary, the SBCA director-general and others to file their comments within two weeks.

The bench also directed its office to club together all the petitions relating to the Jufelhurst Government School building’s demolition on the next date of hearing.