SHC orders plan to deal with heavy traffic

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the Karachi mayor, transport secretary and other authorities concerned to chalk out a strategy to resolve issues of traffic jams and plying of heavy traffic on the roads of Karachi during the day hours.

The direction came on a petition of Faisal Bengali and others who had requested the SHC to pass an appropriate order with regard to the prevailing traffic congestion in the city and the movement of heavy traffic during the day hours. The petitioners submitted that the route map, which had earlier been submitted by the DIG traffic before the court, was not being implemented in its letter and spirit.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar submitted that plying of heavy vehicles in the city during day hours was causing traffic jams in the city.

The mayor suggested that the provincial government establish terminals of intercity buses outside the city. A focal person of the transport department informed the court that two such terminals had been established outside the city while two more were required to resolve the issue of movement of heavy vehicles in the city.

A division bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, directed the mayor, transport secretary and other relevant authorities to hold a meeting to discuss the issues of traffic jams and movement of heavy vehicles and submit a comprehensive plan to resolve them.

Missing children case

The SHC, while hearing a petition seeking recovery of missing children, expressed dissatisfaction over police efforts to recover 20 children reportedly missing from the city and directed the special task force to make efforts for the recovery of the missing children with the assistance of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The court directed the police to make all-out efforts and use modern techniques to ensure that the missing children are recovered.

A progress report was submitted to the SHC on behalf of Criminal Investigation Agency DIG Dr. Mohammad Amin Yousufzai, which detailed efforts being taken for the recovery of missing children. The report stated that the FIA had been approached to trace whereabouts of the missing children and ascertain if those children were kidnapped by human smugglers.

The court was informed that the government had published advertisements in various newspapers regarding the missing children and television channels had also been approached to telecast announcements about the missing children.

A division bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, expressed dissatisfaction over the police progress report and directed the DIG to use modern technology to trace whereabouts of the missing children.

Earlier, the court had directed the head of the special team to make all-out efforts to recover the missing children and appear before the court along with a progress report, justifying efforts which had been taken for the missing children’s recovery.

The petitioner, Roshni Helpline Trust, had moved the court asking it to issue directives to the police to consider the missing children’s cases as a cognisable offence and initiate investigations without any delay.

A counsel for the petitioner had submitted that the whereabouts of 24 children were still unknown and requested the court to direct the police to recover them. The petitioner claimed that the cases of missing children were not being properly investigated and as a result many children had lost their lives.