Oil tankers: SC orders govt to complete Zulfiqarabad terminal early

Shireen Jinnah colony area has been choked by the vehicles.

KARACHI: The Supreme Court issued a number of orders on Thursday in identical complaints against encroachments in Shireen Jinnah Colony which has been clogged by oil tankers.

One of the two contractors developing the new Zulfiqarabad terminal, Zainul Abideen, told the court that he would ensure the project is done on time.

The bench was annoyed that the other firm, Fahim and Nasim, was not properly represented in court. To a query, a man told the bench that the owner of the firm was in Hyderabad. The bench ordered for a show-cause notice to be issued to him.

Faisal Saud, a retired bureaucrat appointed a coordinator by the court, submitted that the land mafia was creating difficulties for the project. Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Gulzar Ahmed then ordered the chief secretary, home secretary and inspector general of police to provide force as and when needed.

Saud once again requested that the matter be resolved permanently. When asked to suggest what he meant by a “permanent solution”, he asked for a police picket – something the bench had ordered earlier on.

On a congestion complaint made by human rights activist Zia Awan advocate, the court asked the SP of traffic in Clifton to ensure that traffic flowed smoothly in the area under the scrutiny of the court.

The court adjourned the hearing to April when it called for a progress report on the Zulfiqarabad tanker terminal project.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2012.