Islamabad - The Supreme Court Wednesday sought timeframe from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to remove blockades and encroachments from the residential areas of the federal capital.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja was hearing a suo moto case regarding encroachments and blockades created in the name of security in residential areas of Islamabad.
Chairman CDA Maroof Afzal in pursuance of the court order appeared before the bench. Justice Jawwad inquired why the foreign embassies had not been shifted to Diplomatic Enclave, adding who would ask these embassies to shift to Diplomatic Enclave.
He further asked CDA Chairman to issue notices to foreign embassies to remove blockades in the name of security.
Maroof Afzal, however, sought time to do the needful as he submitted that the civic body was not authorised to issue notices to the foreign embassies directly. He sought time for contacting the government to issue notices to the foreign embassies for shifting their offices to the Diplomatic Enclave. He informed the court that the civic body was going to allot enough space in the new sectors for commercial activities.
Justice Jawwad remarked whether Pakistani embassies in others countries were allowed to block or encroach the roads as the foreign mission were doing in Pakistan in the name of security. The judge observed if these embassies had been stopped from making encroachments and blockages in the beginning, the situation would not have happened. “All this happened as the CDA had shut its eyes,” Justice Jawwad said, adding the citizens were sending letters saying that the apex court was doing nothing except giving dates. There is dire need to tell the general public that law still prevails in the country, he further said.
The court asked the chairman CDA to ensure that supremacy of law would be maintained and nobody would be allowed to violate law.
The court directed the chairman CDA to give timeframe by February 9 as to when these blockades made by the foreign embassies and police in the name of security in the residential areas of the federal capital would be removed, besides explaining as to when commercial activities in the residential areas would be stopped.
The court further directed the CDA chairman to inform it as to when 216 blockades made in the residential areas would be removed.
The court also directed the CDA chairman to inform it as to when these embassies would be shifted to Diplomatic Enclave and adjourned the hearing till February 9.