KARACHI, December 8: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar remarked on Friday that he has come to realise after arriving in Karachi that there is no discipline in Sindh.
The CJP gave these remarks while hearing the suo-motu case, based on a report published in a newspaper in 2015, regarding encroachment on the land of the old Ladies Club in Larkana. The chief justice observed that he may have to shift to the metropolis for six
months to hear all the pending cases.
He said that even US President Donald Trump doesn’t have authority to allot a Khokha (road-side cabin) in Washington, but in Sindh, whoever desires allots land to people.
Advocate General Sindh Zameer Ahmed Ghumro informed the court that the total land area of Larkana’s Jinnah Garden is 20,000 square yards and the Ladies Club is established at 3,000 square yards. He said that the National Health Centre, Press Club and government schools are located in the Jinnah Garden.
He further informed that the municipal committee of the city has given shops for rent and it had the authority to give allotment.
The chief justice remarked that parks are public property and the government cannot construct anything on it.
The CJP ordered advocate general Sindh to have the park restored to its original position and remove the said encroachments.
The Gomibai Jawaharmal Ladies Club was built by a Hindu deputy collector, who named it after his sister. On January 3, 1934, the club was inaugurated by Mrs RE Gibson, the wife of a senior British bureaucrat. The club has around 107 members and it runs without any financial support from the government. Its governing and management committee manages its affairs with the help of the annual membership fee of Rs4,000 that each member pays.
The club, which is a significant part of Larkana’s heritage, has hosted some famous guests in its time. “This is the club where Rana Liaquat Ali Khan visited several times after the launch of All Pakistan Women Association,” pointed out Dr Mughal. “Members of this club also gave a reception to Lady Mountbatten.”-Sabah
