Court issues notice to CDA chairman

[Salman]

Court issues notice to CDA chairman

ISLAMABAD, May 16: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notice to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman for submitting his para-wise comments in a petition filed by 222 kiosk vendors, who were displaced in 1995 during the construction of Faizabad flyover, seeking alternative place in Islamabad to start their business.

Citing the CDA and the federation of Pakistan as respondents, the petitioner, President Makeshift Stall Vendors Association (MSVA) Azim Khan Rahi, adopted before the court that they were displaced nearly two decades ago and had not been provided
with any alternative place since then.

“The CDA has been providing space for business purposes to some other people and is ignoring them despite space availability,”
he alleged.

According to the petition, the vendors had been running their businesses at Faizabad since 1960 and the CDA also awarded licenses to them in 1992.

In 1994, however, the authority offered them alternative space at I. J. Principal Road and in some residential sectors. Falling for the bait, in July 1995 when they vacated the stalls, however, the authorities did not provide them the promised stalls.

The affected vendors then approached Wafaqi Mohtasib who decided the matter in their favour and directed the CDA to evolve a strategy for their rehabilitation.

Later, the vendors had to file a suit in a civil court of Islamabad for implementation of Mohtasib’s order in 2003 and the court also decided the matter in their favour in 2010. The civic authority, however, filed an appeal against the court’s order but it was
dismissed on February 2, this year.

The petitioner requested the court to order allotment of an equal number of kiosks at suitable locations of Islamabad. The court, after preliminary hearing, issued notices and adjourned the matter till a date to be fixed by the registrar office.

In another case, the IHC Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi dismissed petitions of 12 Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers seeking promotion from back date under the sacked employees (reinstatement) act 2010.

The petitioner Zulfiqar Ali and others through their counsel Saeed Khursheed advocate adopted before the court that under the said act the government employees sacked from 1996 to 1998 were to be reinstated with one-step promotion.

Many of their former colleagues were reinstated through this act and were enjoying back-date benefits and seniority, but the petitioners were deprived of the same. The court, however, dismissed their petitioner