Section 144 imposed around Nasla Tower as demolition work continues

• Section 144 prohibits the gathering of four or more people in a particular place.
• Section 144 imposed by Karachi commissioner upon the request of deputy commissioner east. 
• "Legal action will be taken against people found interfering in the demolition work of Nasla Tower," a notification says.

KARACHI: As the demolition work of Nasla Tower at Karachi's Sharah-e-Faisal continues as per the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, local authorities on Sunday have imposed Section 144 in the vicinity of the site to ward off any untoward incidents, Geo News reported.

Section 144 was imposed upon the directives of the Karachi commissioner and a notification was also issued to implement the orders after deputy commissioner east filed a request in this regard. 

It should be noted that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) empowers district administration to issue orders in the public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time. It also prohibits the gathering of four or more people in a particular area. 

Per the notification, certain individuals may disrupt the law and order situation of the area during the demolition process of the building, therefore, a gathering of more than four individuals within the vicinity of Nasla Tower will be banned until the completion of the demolition work.

"Legal action will be taken against people found interfering in the demolition work of Nasla Tower," the notification said.

On the other hand, the contractor responsible for the demolition work told Geo News that in order to tear down the building, labourers are working 24 hours a day in three different shifts. 

"We are making sure no casualties happen during the demolition of the building," he said.

SC orders speeding up Nasla Tower demolition

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Karachi commissioner to double the number of labourers and demolish the Nasla Tower within one week.

A three-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard important cases at the SC Karachi Registry, The News reported.

In its written orders, the apex court directed the commissioner to double the number of labourers from 200 to 400 to demolish the Nasla Tower within a week and set a time-frame of 20 days to demolish Tejori Heights.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), Mohsin Shaikhani, asked to hold the relevant government departments accountable as the entire building was not constructed in a day. Shaikhani said that the chief minister and chief secretary of Sindh should be held responsible for the state of affairs and urged them to sit with them and collectively take steps for the improvement of Karachi.

Those who approved Nasla Tower plan be punished first: Saeed Ghani

On Friday, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani had demanded that those who were responsible for issuing the construction permits for the Nasla Tower building should be held responsible and punished.

Speaking on Geo News' show "Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Saath," the minister had said the guilty party — whether it be the Sindh government or the Nasla Tower builder — should be punished rather than those who bought the flats.

"For [the] sake of argument if I say the builder is at fault, Sindh government is at fault, Saeed Ghani is at fault or even if Murad Ali Shah is at fault, punish them first," he had said.

He had called on the courts to hand exemplary punishments to those responsible for the construction of the tower rather than those who were residing in it.

"I don't think they [Nasla Tower affectees] are even 1% responsible," he stated. "When they bought flats or shops there, I am sure they must have checked all the SBCA approvals and maps before doing so," he had added.