SC orders demolition of mosque, cemetery built on illegal land

CJP rerimands DMC East for construction of Madinah Mosque, other encroachments on land meant Tariq Road park

KARACHI:

The Supreme Court (SC) ordered on Tuesday to demolish a mosque, shrine and cemetery built on amenity parks' land near Tariq Road in Karachi.

A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin, heard a case against the construction of Madinah Mosque and other encroachments on the land meant for a park in Tariq Road at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry. District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Administrator East maintained that the mosque was constructed on park land.

Chief Justice Gulzar expressed anger over the land still being occupied, reprimanding the district administrator over Karachi's condition.

“What have you done with this city? The city has been built in a way that it now needs to be rebuilt from scratch, like Poland, Germany and France were,” the CJP berated the district administrator.

He said that the area of PECHS had been turned into a huge slum, and tall buildings had been constructed in even the small alleyways.

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“What would happen if a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the city?" the CJP asked, adding that millions would lose their lives.

No place of worship can be built on illegal land

CJ Gulzar also heard the case for restoration of the Kidney Hill Park.

Amber Ali of Shehri - Citizens for a Better Environment said that the construction of the Al-Fatah Mosque had restarted on the upper part of the park land.

Khawaja Shams, the mosque administration's counsel, said that the land was obtained from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) through auction. However, he claimed that a new mosque was being built in its stead.

“Assistant Commissioner Asma Batool has built a mausoleum and a graveyard to add fuel to sectarian rift. Bismillah mosque was also built overnight to sow sectarianism,” the lawyer stated.

Justice Amin remarked that no place of worship could be built on illegal land.

He emphasised that Islam did not allow the construction of mosques on land acquired illegally. Justice Amin added that the KMC did not have the authority to issue a licence for the construction of a mosque on land meant for a park.

The SC rejected Al-Fatah Mosque administration's request for a review, ordering them to return the land allotted for the mosque to the KMC. It further revoked the licence issued by the KMC.

The chief justice reprimanded Assistant Commissioner Asma, stating that there was a mention of one grave at the last hearing, but the whole area now seems to have been turned into a graveyard.

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Shams claimed that Asma had also stopped the demolition of Nasla Tower. Furthermore, he added that some women have appealed to the court that Asma was blackmailing them with the help of her husband, who was a Mukhtiarkar.

On hearing the arguments, Justice Gulzar warned the assistant commissioner of losing her job, and never getting another one. “If there is ever a stone in front of you, you will not remove it. You will just ignore it and leave,” he castigated.

“The whole country has gone blind,” Justice Amin lambasted, questioning what “these people” were doing.

“They are our employees. We are not their employees. They have to work. These people impose on us and are not ready to work,” he said.

The court ordered complete relinquishment of land in the Kidney Hill Park area, as well as the removal of Bismillah Mosque, mausoleum and cemetery within the park.