Nasla Tower order

A controversial chapter in Karachi's urban history has been revisited through a judgment by the Federal Constitutional Court to withdraw the sweeping directions issued by the Supreme Court in the Nasla Tower case in 2021. This marks an important correction in how urban regulation and accountability must be approached. The judgment rightfully restores the responsibility of enforcing those laws to the institutions legally mandated to do so - the provincial government and the SBCA.

The building's removal became a symbol of the city's wider failure of regulation, but it also raised difficult questions about justice, due process and the consequences faced by ordinary citizens who had invested their life savings in apartments that had been approved and overlooked by multiple state institutions. There was no denying that irregularities surrounded Nasla Tower's construction. If land was illegally acquired and permissions were unlawfully granted, those responsible should have faced strict legal action. The officials who approved the project, the individuals who benefited from the illegalities and the institutions that failed to prevent the construction should have been held accountable. Punishing those responsible would have sent a far stronger deterrent message than demolishing a building years after families had made it their homes. The judiciary cannot become a substitute for regulatory bodies that have failed to discharge their responsibilities. Courts exist to interpret and uphold the law, but sustainable urban governance requires functioning institutions and accountable officials.

At the same time, the FCC judgment should not be misinterpreted as a licence for unchecked construction. Instead, it reinforces the need for institutions entrusted with regulating urban development to be held accountable for failing to discharge their mandates, shifting the burden back to administrative institutions. Courts will likely be more cautious about issuing blanket demolition orders, and future action against illegal structures will require due process and institutional responsibility.