Centaurus Mall partially de-sealed after traders’ protest
Judge says no bar on screening movies during daytime in Ramazan.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) partially de-sealed the Centaurus Mall on Tuesday evening after closing it for the whole day over alleged violations of building regulations. The high-rise shopping centre located in Islamabad’s Sector F-8 was partially opened after traders staged a protest demonstration and blocked Jinnah Avenue.
The traders had warned that they would bring the capital to a halt if the mall was not opened immediately. The CDA Chairman Building Control Cell said that the first floor of the mall was reopened but the basement was still sealed because of the nonconforming use. It said that the basement of the shopping centre was being used for commercial activities which was illegal.
According to CDA officials, rules were violated in the basement of Centaurus Mall as only parking was allowed in the basement. However, a grocery store and various offices were allowed in the basement, CDA officials said adding that the basement cannot be used for commercial purpose.
The Centaurus Mall, owned by Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf leader and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, was sealed by the CDA building control department after six notices were issued to the management. The CDA said that despite the notices, the alleged nonconforming use of the building continued in violation of regulations. It said that the first notice was issued to Centaurus Mall management on March 7, 2014, the second on October 25, 2019, then on December 28, 2020, then again on March 31, 2021.
The penultimate notice was sent on October 11, 2021, and the sixth and final notice was issued on November 23, 2022. “Despite repeated notices, Centaurus Mall management did not comply, and the building was sealed.” Earlier, PTI Chairperson and former prime minister Imran Khan condemned the government’s move to seal the Centaurus Mall for what he said after the AJK premier ‘censured’ Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for not highlighting the sacrifices of Kashmiris in a speech during a visit to Mangla Dam the other day.
According to the former premier, the “mafia” Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) actions suggested that there was a “law of the jungle in Pakistan since [the] last eight months” after the PTI’s removal through a noconfidence motion. Imran furthered that the action sent “negative signals to Kashmiris too”. Posing a question for the country's judges, he asked if they were indeed the “upholders of the law”.