Metro Bus Service: LHC gives bank branch seven days to move

Manager HBL asks the court to stop government officials from pressing the bank to shift immediately.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday gave the Habib Bank Limited branch at Qartaba Chowk one week to move so that the building can be demolished to make room for the Metro Bus Service (MBS).

Arshad Ali, the manager of the HBL branch, had filed the petition stating that the government had ordered the immediate demolition of the building following a change in the design of the MBS. He said it was impossible for HBL to wind up the branch immediately and sought 10 days. He asked the court to stop government officials from pressing the bank to shift immediately.

A lawyer representing the government said that the design had been changed to allow for space for the construction of an underpass at Qurtaba Chowk.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2012.