ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a plea seeking to stop the construction of a high-rise building in Karachi’s Gulshan Faisal Cooperative Society, observing that if the structure is ultimately found to be illegal, it can be demolished.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard a case relating to the conversion of commercial land into residential plots in Karachi. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner argued that a 2,000-square-yard commercial plot in Gulshan Faisal had previously been converted into a residential plot, where townhouses were constructed. However, a builder later purchased some of the townhouses and began constructing a high-rise building on the site. The lawyer informed the court that nine floors of the building had already been completed.
Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi remarked that Karachi had once witnessed a trend of constructing townhouses, which was later replaced by eight-storey buildings, adding that the current trend appeared to be converting eight-storey buildings into 20-storey structures.
Counsel for the builder requested the court to seek comments from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and other relevant authorities. In response, Justice Rizvi observed that the SBCA never seemed to take a position against builders.
The petitioner’s counsel also requested an injunction to halt further construction of the building. However, the court rejected the request, stating that construction should continue and that if the building was eventually found to be illegal, it could be demolished.
Referring to the Nasla Tower case, Justice Rizvi remarked, “The example of Nasla Tower is before us.” Due to a shortage of time, the court directed that the matter be heard at the Karachi Registry and adjourned further proceedings for an indefinite period.
