KARACHI, Jan 26: The Sindh High Court barred a paint factory on Monday from dumping its waste at the Orangi Town graveyard or any other place where it could endanger public health.
A petition was moved by a resident of the town alleging that the respondent factory, M/s Berger Paints, SITE, Karachi, was depositing industrial waste in a populated area where it threatened the environment and public health and safety. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) or the SITE management was taking no action against the offending concern.
Sepa director Naeem Ahmed Mughal appeared in response to a court notice and informed a division bench consisting of Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Arshad Noor Khan that notices have already been issued to factories found contravening the provisions of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. He submitted a copy of the notice served on the respondent concern. It said the factory was ‘illegally dumping hazardous and toxic solid waste at the Rahimshah Graveyard, Orangi Town’ and the material had caused severe burn injuries to children playing around and the people passing by.
In exercise of the powers of the EPA under Section 16 (2) of the 1997 Act, the agency asked the concern to ‘remove/shift all the hazardous/toxic waste from the dumping site to a safe place for incineration through the EPA-approved incinerators without causing damage to environment’. The concern was also asked to take appropriate measures to prevent generation of toxic solid waste and arrange its safe disposal in future and send the EPA an inventory of waste generated and disposed of every month. The notice warned that failure to comply might result in closure of the factory and render it liable to other penalties under the 1997 Act. A copy of the notice has been endorsed to the SITE managing director to ensure compliance.
The SITE management also assured the bench of follow-up action. The bench disposed of the petition in terms of the EPA notice and the SITE undertaking and asked them to submit a compliance report after expiry of the notice period.
‘Missing’ person
The Sindh High Court asked a provincial attorney to ascertain the whereabouts of a missing person and adjourned the hearing of a petition moved by his mother until after a week.
Mst Ameer Begum, a resident of Mirpurkhas, submitted that her son, Abrar, had been missing for the last four years. He was picked up by unidentified people and she lodged a criminal complaint with a Mirpurkhas police station. She learnt subsequently that Abrar had been taken into custody by a ‘law-enforcement’ agency. He was handed over to the US authorities, who shifted him to their Bagram detention centre in Afghanistan. Ultimately, he was taken to the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison. According to her information, the petitioner said, Abrar was released from the detention centre and he returned to Pakistan. He was again picked up on his return by unidentified people and taken to some unknown place. She requested the court to order his recovery and production as the police was not pursuing her complaint.
AAG Memon sought a week’s time to ascertain the whereabouts of Abrar and the bench allowed the request.
Police restrained
Justice Salman Ansari, meanwhile, restrained the special branch of police from harassing petitioner Mohammad Arif Kasmani and adjourned the hearing of his petition to a date in office.
Petitioner Kasmani submitted through Advocate Syed Nehal Hashmi that he was previously taken detained by unknown people for eight months. There was no allegation against him and he was freed. However, a special branch official visited his residence in KDA Scheme I on Jan 3 and asked the members of his family to hand over copies of his identity card and passport in his absence ‘within 24 hours’. His son submitted the copies to in-charge of the special branch office in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. Despite compliance, he was being kept under surveillance in violation of his fundamental rights.
Issuing notices to the home secretary, the IGP, the CCPO, and the special branch in-charge for a date in office, the court retrained the respondent police from harassing him or members of his family.
Bhutto assets case
The counsel for Ms Sanam Bhutto, daughter of the late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, submitted a list of the legal heirs of the late premier Benazir Bhutto. The counsel, Advocate Rizwan Haider Nadeem, was asked by the court to submit a list of heirs so that they could be substituted as parties in place of Benazir Bhutto.
Petitioner Sanam Bhutto has moved for distribution of Mr Bhutto’s movable and immovable properties, including his Clifton residence, among all his legal heirs according to their shares under the Islamic law of inheritance. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated pending the proceedings and the court asked the counsel to submit a list of her legal heirs. The list submitted to Justice Faisal Arab on Monday mentioned the names of (President) Asif Ali Zardari, PPP co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Bakhtawar Zardari Bhutto and Asifa Zardari Bhutto. The case would now come up for hearing on a date to be fixed by office.
Defamation suit
Justice Gulzar Ahmed, meanwhile, issued notices to the defendants in a suit instituted by federal health minister Ejaz Hussain Jakhrani for February 25.
The plaintiff contended through Advocate Abid S. Zuberi that Mrs Saeeda Soomro, Ms Maleeha Malik, Fahd Malik (all close relatives of Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro), journalist Tariq Butt and editor of an English-language daily levelled or published false allegation against him at the time of his induction as federal minister in an attempt to defame him. He demanded Rs100 million from the defendants individually and jointly for damaging his reputation. The impugned reports alleged that he was involved in criminal cases and that he had won the NA seat from Jacobabad by rigging.
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