51,290 sq-yd KPT land retrieved: secretary

The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs on Thursday took notice of the Karachi Port Trust’s (KPT) social welfare and land issues and formed a five-member sub-committee headed by PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel.

The NA panel, which met under the chairmanship of Mir Amir Ali Magsi, was briefed on KPT’s land and port issues.

Maritime Affairs Secretary Rizwan Ahmed maintained that 51,290 square yards of the port trust’s land had been recovered. He noted that 124 people had been held, 43 vehicles seized and 79 FIRs registered in this regard.

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It was further said that most cases related to KPT lands were still pending in courts.

The maritime secretary observed that summary trials on KPT’s possessed land were held in the presence of a judicial magistrate.

The meeting was informed that instructions had been given for the construction of boundary walls on all the plots of the trust and that notification in this regard would be presented to the committee.