Court seeks authorities’ response on plea against closure of road

SHC CJ remarks that entire city being put in trouble in the name of security

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court has ordered the police and other law enforcement agencies to submit a joint reply by March 6 on a petition against road closure for Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi heard the petition, where DIG Traffic Iqbal Dara and other DIGs appeared before the court. DIG Traffic said that no road was closed for traffic, to which the chief justice remarked, saying, "Have you come here to fool the court. The chief justice inquired where was the DIG operations.

The DIG operations said the road was closed for security reasons. The CJ remarked that the entire city is being put in trouble in the name of security. The road can only be closed when teams arrive and leave the stadium so that people do not face inconvenience, the CJ said warning that the day when people's patience is exhausted, then they will do a lot.

He added that the court had directed the authorities in this regard but court directives have not been taken seriously.

The CJ ordered the authorities to make sure that no road will be closed for no reason. "I have also removed the flag from my car. People expect us to do something good for them. Your work should be such that people respect you. This country has been in danger ever since it was formed. When people do not get justice, they take to the streets," the chief justice said.

Police officials said that the road is not completely closed. The court expressed its anger on the police and said in its remarks that after the meeting of IG Sindh, it was decided that the road will not be closed. The CJ further remarked that people urge to take PSL to Bahria Town from here. "People still have some faith in the courts. People are already upset. This is a very serious matter."

The DIG Traffic said that there was a meeting chaired by the IG in which it was decided that the road will not be closed. Meanwhile, SSP operations said that there were serious threats due to which the road was closed. The chief justice said that the people should not suffer any more. The country has been in danger for seventy years. Who is at risk? I ask my driver to respect the traffic light. Don't give us VIP protocol either. Millions of people are troubled because of a few thousand people.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2024.