SC orders end to all commercial activities on CAA lands across country

• Supreme Court ordered an end to all commercial activities on the CAA's lands across the country.
• The CJP says that 200 acres of lands were allotted to CAA for airports not for running marriage halls.
• The CAA DG apprises the apex court that they needed the land for a new cargo terminal.

KARACHI: Expressing its displeasure over the construction of marriage halls on the lands allotted to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), the Supreme Court Monday ordered an end to all commercial activities on the lands across the country.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed issued the ruling while hearing a case pertaining to the allotment of CAA’s lands to others at the SC's Karachi Registry.

The apex court ordered that the lands allotted to CAA must be used for airport purposes only.

During today’s hearing, the court asked the CAA DG that what did they do with the lands allotted to them earlier? Why did you need more land? questioned the judge.

“Marriage halls are being run on the lands of CAA,” the court said and asked the DG that if CAA’s job is to run marriage halls.

Snubbing the DG CAA, the CJP said, “Then you should build marriage halls on the airports as well.”

The CJP said that 200 acres of lands were allotted to CAA for airports not for running marriage halls.

The CAA DG apprised the apex court that they needed the land for a new cargo terminal. The CJP further said that the entire Karachi airport has been ruined.

During the hearing, the CAA officer admitted that FIA declared two entries in the land record as fake after the investigation. He said that their people were involved in the scam.

On the occasion, Board of Revenue Sindh’s senior member said that they were looking into the matter of the fake entries. Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed directed to take action against the people involved in the scam.

Meanwhile, the apex court adjourned the hearing and directed the FIA DG to appear before the court along with the report on the next hearing.