SC gives Murtaza Wahab another chance, withdraws removal order

Court orders the anti-corruption department to book the SBCA DG on corruption charges

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Monday retracted its order regarding the removal of Murtaza Wahab from the post of the Karachi administrator after the latter submitted an "unconditional apology" to the court.

The apex court advised Wahab to perform his duties in a non-partisan way by remaining above "political affiliation".

Earlier in the day, the top court had directed the Sindh chief minister to remove Wahab from his post after the latter exchanged heated words with the chief justice during a hearing of cases pertaining to the Nasla Tower and encroachments in Karachi, among other issues.

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that the administrator was not eligible to hold the administrative position as he was “acting like a politician instead of an administrator”.

“If you cannot perform duties in a neutral manner then you should step down,” Justice Gulzar added.

At this, Wahab, irked by the remarks, said should he leave the government?

He said the SC passes observations against the government in open courts. “What should we do; should we step down from the government?”

At this, CJP Gulzar told him to leave the courtroom. “Are you an administrator or a political leader,” he asked Wahab. The administrators are appointed to serve people, not play politics.

It seemed the current city administrator failed to perform his duties, he said, adding that the CM should appoint a “neutral and eligible” administrator for Karachi.

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The SC also ordered Wahab to restore all city parks to their original state by removing encroachments and ensuring that the land reserved for parks isn’t encroached upon.

CJP Gulzar, while grilling Wahab, asked if Karachi was his “personal property”?

"Transfer Bin Qasim park [and] Hill park in your name. Take Frere [Hall] park too. How many parks are left in Karachi? Finish them now…distribute the few remaining parks among your officers," he said referring to the KMC.

Justice Qazi Amin - part of the court's two-member bench hearing the case - said the land belonged to the state and it will be taken back either by “us or through someone who comes after us”.

The CJP said that there could be no construction on welfare plots and they were solely for welfare purposes.

CJP Gulzar also came down hard on the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), saying the KMC officials were allegedly selling welfare plots to mint money. He said all the housing societies run by the KMC should be shut down.

Case against building planner

During the hearing, the SC bench also ordered the authorities concerned to register a case against those who approved the plan of the building. The court said the department should also take action against the responsible officers along with the registration of criminal cases against them by the anti-corruption department.

The police officers involved in the case also needed to be prosecuted, the SC said. It directed the DIG East to submit the report on the proceedings against the said officers at the next hearing.

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The court also ordered the anti-corruption department to book the director-general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) on corruption charges. It said as per a report submitted to the court, the SCBA DG asked for bribes from the contractor. It ordered the anti-corruption DG to start an investigation and submit a report to the court.

Demolish Nasla Tower in week

During the hearing, the Karachi commissioner apprised the bench that five floors of the building have been demolished. He said at least 400 labourers were working on the demolition and the building structure was completely destroyed from the inside.

CJP Gulzar said it takes an hour to demolish buildings like this across the world, “why is it taking you so long?”

The commissioner said that there were protests against the demolition but the administration used Section 144 to restrain people.

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Justice Amin said if someone was obstructing the demolition then they were committing contempt of court.

CJP Gulzar also issued a contempt notice to the SCBA DG who was accused of hindering the demolition by the commissioner in the report submitted to the court.

The court gave the commissioner one week to destroy the building by using all the resources available.