KARACHI, Oct 30: The Sindh High Court directed the police and other authorities on Tuesday to submit a report as to how many streets and roads were blocked in the city.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam also directed them to inform the court of the authority who gave directions for the blockades.

The court was seized with the hearing of a petition against the closure of the Court Road and Kamal Ata Turk Road for the general public.

The petitioner submitted that the SHC had on March 9, 1992 directed the authorities to ensure that the road in front of the Sindh Assembly would remain open for public traffic even during assembly sessions.

However, he said, the court order was not complied with despite the government’s undertaking that the road would not be closed for traffic even during assembly sessions.

The petitioner stated that the closure of the two roads had created a great deal of inconvenience to the people, especially those approaching the high court.

The bench issued notices to the president and secretary of the Sindh High Court Bar Association to assist the court in the matter.

The court also directed the registrar of the court to file a report on the applications of the judges who faced difficulties in access to the court.

PQA told to pay compensation

An SHC division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar directed the respondent revenue officials and chairman of the Port Qasim Authority to pay compensation amount to owners, whose 69-acre land was acquired by the government for the PQA, in court, or else they would have to face contempt of court proceedings.

The court was seized with the contempt of court application of Rabia and others against Revenue EDO Sajjad Hussain Abbasi, DDO Ahmed Shah, Subhan Memon, member of the land utilisation committee and the PQA chairman for flouting the court order of 2004 for payment of compensation to them.

The bench ordered: “It would be in the best interest of the officers responsible, including the senior Member, Board of Revenue, to make payment of the entire amount to the petitioner in court on 12-11-2012 at 12.30pm without fail or else all officers including the senior Member, BoR, shall face contempt of court proceedings for deliberate non-compliance of the court orders”.The court further observed: “It may be noted that in addition to the contempt proceedings, the officers who may be found responsible for delay/default, may be ordered to pay compensation for delay in payment to the petitioner out of their own pocket.”

The court also expressed grave dismay and displeasure over the non-compliance of the court’s order despite the lapse of over eight years and observed that the court was “facing absurd, nonsensical and flimsy excuses” for the non-payment to the petitioners.

The court observed: “Although there is much to say in this case, however, we restrain ourselves from doing that and would simply say that the conduct of the officers involved in the matter is, to say the least, is pathetic”.

Illegal fishing nets case

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered the provincial police chief to take action against the manufacturers, sellers and buyers of the illegal and hazardous fishing nets.

The direction came on a petition against fishing with illegal nets in the open sea.

The petition was filed by four fishermen — Hussain Ali, Umar, Ahmed Baloch and Ghulam Hussain — all residents of Lath Basti, Landhi.

The defence secretary, interior secretary, Sindh home secretary, directors general of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG) and provincial agriculture, livestock and fishing departments and the inspector general of police were impleaded as respondents.

A division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi directed the IGP to look into the matter, and take action in accordance with law if anyone was found involved in manufacturing of banned fishing nets.

The petitioners, represented by Advocate Nasir Ahmed, submitted in the petition that their forefathers had been in the fishing profession since the times of Raja Dahir in the coastal belt of the province.

They stated that for the last few years some influential people with political contacts and with the connivance of monitoring officials using prohibited wire nets such as Bullo, Gujo, Kado and Katra.