Islamabad: The Supreme Court (SC) bench responsible for judging matters related to the Islamabad Master Plan has referred the case to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) — asking him to constitute a larger bench, according to a news source. Previously, the case had been under the auspices of a two-member bench, which comprised of Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah.
The petition calling for this submission stated that since the matter has been decided by the two-member bench of the SC, a larger bench should be constituted to hear the case in order to reach a holistic decision.
The counsel for the petitioner stated that the case should be heard as soon as development work in the federal capital ceases, so that people do not face any undue inconvenience caused by the ban on construction in Islamabad.
Additionally, the justice system continued with its mission to stop the practice of encroachments in the city, as a two-member bench of the SC heard a case in this regard at the end of October, about similar violations in Bani Gala. This bench was comprised of Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Umar Ata Bandial. In addition, the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) also submitted a report on encroachments.
According to various stakeholders, once the Islamabad Master Plan has been finalised, and the issue of encroachments has been resolved, the federal capital will be even more organised and appealing than ever before.
