A local court has sent to a shelter-home an underage girl, named Kashmala, who has "married a man of her own choosing". The Additional District and Sessions Judge East issued a written order in a case involving the alleged kidnapping of Kashmala from Korangi.
The judge ordered that the girl be sent to a shelter-home. "The girl should be housed in a shelter-home until her age is determined," reads the court order.
The court directed the investigating officer to implement the order of the Sindh High Court (SHC) which directed the concerned authorities on October 27 to set up a medical board to ascertain the girl's age. Kashmala's father claims that his daughter is 14-year old who, he alleges, was kidnapped by one Ali Raza.
A case was registered against him in Korangi police station. However, the defence counsel dismissed the kidnapping charges, claiming that his client and Kashmala had tied the nuptial knot on July 28, 2022.
Deadline set to submit reply
An SHC bench set a deadline for the Sindh government and the Sindh Building Control Authority to respond to a petition about lack of rules compilation by the SBCA. The deadline was set by a two-member SHC bench, headed by Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, on a petition filed by Tariq Mansoor Advocate. The petitioner stated that in 1979, the SBCA Ordinance was introduced, but its rules have not been established since then.
The Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations were introduced in 2002. The authority to alter the land which was granted under this regulation. Additionally, the SBCA lacks the power to convert a residential land to commercial. Interestingly, the regulations were introduced first, even though the rules were supposed to be introduced first.
The SBCA's existing method of operations is unlawful, he contended. The Sindh government and SBCA again sought time for submitting a reply. The petitioner stated that despite the passage of almost a year, the respondents have yet to submit a response.
The court gave the Sindh government and SBCA a deadline to submit their responses.
Contempt of court
A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, on Tuesday sought a written reply from the Sindh government on a contempt of court petition regarding the alleged illegal lease of land to a poultry farm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed. Arguing before the bench, the petitioner's counsel stated that the government has leased land to Fiqah Alam for 30 years.
"The land which was leased in my name has been leased again," the petitioner contended. "My four acres of land has been merged with other plots and allotted for commercial purposes," he claimed. Can a piece of land within the boundary walls be leased for a vegetable market and a poultry farm, asked Justice Rizvi while further saying that "is it possible to use the property set aside for a market and poultry farm for commercial purposes?"
The Additional Advocate General stated that there was a lot of confusion in the land leases. "We have to look into the matter," he said and requested the court for time to submit a written reply. The court asked the Sindh government to submit a written response within 15 days.
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