Islamabad’s Centaurus Mall unsealed after being shut down

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad district administration unsealed a high-rise shopping mall hours after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had shut it down for “violating” building regulations.

The Centauras Mall – a high-rise shopping centre located in the F-8 sector – was de-sealed after the district administration held talks with traders, who were protesting after the mall was shut down.

The traders had blocked Jinnah Avenue in protest and warned that they would bring the capital to a halt if the mall was not opened. The CDA said the decision was made keeping in view the difficulties of traders.

CDA officials said rules were being violated in the basement of the mall. They said that only parking is allowed in the basement but there was a general store, offices, and construction materials were kept there.

The officials said the basement cannot be used for commercial purposes. They added that parts of the basement apart from the parking,  with illegal spaces will remain sealed and will only be reopened after the violations are removed.

The CDA had sealed the premises with a notice of the authority reading: “The premises has been sealed on account of non-conforming use by order of director building control-city, CDA.”

Politics of Vengence

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had linked the closure of the mall to the protest launched by Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who owns the mall, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech in Mangla.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan said the closure of the mall shows the vengeful politics of the government.

“Sealing of Centauras by PDM mafia in response to PM AJK censuring Shehbaz Sharif for not mentioning sacrifices of Kashmiris shows there is law of the jungle in Pakistan since last eight months,” he said.

The PTI chairperson said that the move “sends negative signals to Kashmiris” and it was also a question for the judges.

The PTI also claimed that AJK PM was stopped from coming to Islamabad and his search was searched after his altercation with PM Shehbaz Sharif.

“AJK PM during Shehbaz Sharif’s speech stood on his seat and protested against Pakistan’s weak stance on Kashmir issue for which first his car was stopped in Mangla and today his business has been sealed,” tweeted PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry.

Fawad said never before in Pakistan’s history has there been a government as fascist as this one. He said such actions will only drag the already whimpering economy down.

A day earlier, AJK PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas had interrupted PM Shehbaz Shebaz during a speech for “not mentioning the sacrifices of Kashmiri people”.

The interruption occurred during the inauguration of the refurbishment project of units 5 and 6 of the Mangla Dam. PM Shehbaz Sharif assured to discuss the matter with AJK PM but left the event shortly afterwards.

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