PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has declared the construction of a wall near a Peshawar thoroughfare, Shami Road, for security reasons illegal.

A bench consisting of Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Ijaz Anwar accepted a petition jointly filed by the residents of Hassan Garhi, Shagai Hindkian, Sultan Qila, Mohallah Attabad and Shami Road Garden Colony against the construction of a temporary wall on a road connecting their localities with the Shami Road area around five years ago.

It directed the relevant authorities to remove the wall constructed from the road leading towards canal side on the Shami Road for the access of the resident of the Shami Road area to Warsak Road and Hassan Garhi Road and vice versa.

The bench declared that if the relevant authorities faced security problems, they could erect a barrier on pattern of those put up in cantonment areas and on the Mall.

Orders removal of structure built five years ago for security reasons

It added: “Undeniably, the wave of terrorism had adverse impacts on the movement and economic activities in the entire city of Peshawar including the Cantonment Zone.”

The bench observed that following commendable defence services rendered by the state and law-enforcement agencies, the law and order situation had improved considerably.

“From perusal of the master plan coupled with record it appears that Shami Road Peshawar is an old road leading to different village areas like Hassan Garhi, Shagai Hindkian, Sultan Qila, Mohallah Attabad and Mohallah Khanabad, and the blockage of some of the roads/streets cause inconvenience to the inhabitants of the above mentioned villages as well as residents of Shami Road Colony, particularly during working hours,” the bench ruled.

A deputy military estate officer had questioned the claim of the petitioners that the road connecting those villages with Shami Road was a link road and had declared that it was in fact a street of the Shami Road Colony.

He said intelligence reports recommended the keeping of the wall intact due to security concerns of the cantonment authority and residents of Shami Road Colony.

The bench, however, ruled that having proximity of a street with a colony did not render the street an exclusive ownership of the inhabitants of that specific colony and instead, it was a ‘public property to be used by the general public’.

The court observed that the authorities should demonstrate wisdom in the public interest and to facilitate the general public instead of blocking the roads/ streets on the pretext of law and order situation.

Wali Khan Afridi and Mohammad Taif Khan, lawyers for the petitioners, said the Shami Road was a major artery, which led to several villages and residential areas through small roads. They added that a major street connected the Shami Road with that of the nearby Canal Road and Warsak Road.

The counsel said the residents of villages and localities used the Shami Road to go to educational institutions and workplaces, especially during peak hours.

They said the authorities had put up a wall near the road in 2017 blocking the access of villages to it and therefore, they had to cover long distances to reach destinations.

The lawyers said the blocking a major thoroughfare by a wall was illegal and unconstitutional.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022