SC orders action against responsible | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

SC orders action against responsible

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Karachi administrator to take action against the people responsible for converting the Islamic Centre into a cinema house.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali heard the suo motu regarding alleged conversion of the Islamic Centre ‘Al Markaz-e-Islami’ building into a cinema house.

The suo motu has been initiated over the letter written by Karachi-based Jamaat Islami Chief Naeemur Rehman Siddiqui to the Chief Justice of Pakistan on March 15.

Karachi Municipal Corporation in the last hearing on May 11 had submitted the written reply.
During the hearing, the KMC counsel informed that the permission was not sought from the competent authority to convert the Islamic Centre into a cultural centre.

Earlier, Taufiq Asif advocate, appearing on behalf of Ameer JI, argued that the idea for construction of Markaz-e-Islami was primarily conceived by the then Mayor Karachi Abdul Sattar Afghani in December 1980.
According to the plan, the building will be consisted of library, an auditorium and an Art Gallery for fine art-based Islamic culture.
Later on, he told, through illegal administrative order it was converted into a cultural centre.

The chief justice inquired from Laeeq Ahmed, administrator KMC whether conversion of the Islamic Centre into a Cultural Centre is lawful? He further questioned how the Islamic Centre could be made cinema and asked the administrator to take action against the persons responsible for it.

The court said that the administrator is independent in taking administrative action.
Khawaja Jawwad advocate appearing on behalf of Fun Rama Cinema said that the city government had not permitted to run the cinema.
He requested the court to grant him sometime for submitting a written statement in this regard.
The court accepting his request adjourned the case till second week of July.

The Nation