The Supreme Court issued orders on Thursday for the auction of the land where Nasla Tower once stood in Karachi and for compensation to be provided to the affected allottees.

The court’s Karachi Registry had previously directed the relevant authorities to ensure compensation for nearly 44 affected families of the residential complex, which was demolished under a legal order in 2021.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the counsel for the affected allottees, advocate Shahab Sarki, informed the court that the owner of the residential complex, Abdul Qadir Kateela, had passed away, and the affected families were still awaiting compensation.

The advocate-general, appearing before the court, stated that the commissioner had taken possession of the tower land and submitted a report.

Upon this, the lawyer representing the affected families proposed that the plot adjoining the residential complex should also be sold to compensate the allottees.

Later, the court ordered the auction of the tower land and compensation for the allottees, requesting a report on the market value of the tower land and its adjacent plot.

The court issued a notice to the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Society, instructing it to advertise the auction.

The court instructed the affected families to provide original ownership evidence to the cooperative society, and directed the society to submit details of the heirs of the late builder of Nasla Tower.

The court also ordered the submission of a report on the bidding of the Nasla Tower land.

In June 2021, the apex court, under the leadership of then CJP Gulzar Ahmed, had ordered the demolition of the 15-storey residential complex located at the junction of Shahra-e-Faisal and Shahra-e-Quaideen, citing violations of building bylaws, and directed compensation for the affected families.