Supreme Court orders Nasla Tower’s demolition within 10 days

KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday ordered the demolition of residential and commercial building Nasla Tower within the next 10 days.

The order was issued by a three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed.

The SC ordered commissioner Karachi to disconnect utilities of the building and get it vacated by October 27 and after that demolish it within a week using modern technology. The court pointed out that such technology was already in use in India for demolition of buildings.

The court further directed the commissioner to recover the cost of demolition from the builder and if the builder did not pay, then attach the land after demolition, auction it and recover the demolition cost.

The court ordered the commissioner to ensure that no damage is caused by demolition to structures around Nasla Tower and operation is completed without causing any harm to humans.

On September 20, 2021, the SC had dismissed the review petitions of the builder and occupants asking the court to review its June 16, 2021 judgment ordering demolition of the 15-storey building in Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SMCHS).

The SC while dismissing the review petitions of builder and residents had observed that the builder had failed to prove the title over the area beyond 780 square yards whereas the tower was raised over an area of 1,044 square yards.