Murad wonders if Islamabad buildings can be regularised, why not Nasla Tower

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that instead of ordering to demolish the Nasla Tower, the Supreme Court should have found some intermediary way to regularise the multistorey residential unit in Karachi.

Talking to reporters outside an accountability court here where he had come to attend the hearing of Nooriabad Power Plant reference against him, Shah said his government did not want to raze the residential building but it was bound to abide by the court order.

He was of the view that the apex court should have found some middle way instead of ordering to bulldoze the entire complex. He said if somebody was sanctioned to construct the building on the encroached piece of land, then the wrongdoer should have been punished. He asked why buildings in Islamabad could be regularised but not Nasla Tower. He said his government would set up a commission under the chair of a retired judge to regularise buildings in the province.

Earlier, the accountability court adjourned the case without hearing it when it learnt that the record of the case was in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted its response on the acquittal application of accused Niaz Ali Sheikh.

Accountability Judge Muhammad Asghar Ali heard the reference. Chief Minister Shah and other suspects appeared before the court.

The NAB requested the court to declare accused Muhammad Ali as proclaimed offender. The judge asked NAB to submit details of the accused his assets to the court.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case until January 11.