Plea for unsealing of Arif Alvi’s clinic in Karachi allowed

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday allowed a petition filed against a decision of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to seal the dental clinic of former president Dr Arif Alvi in a residential area.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput announced its order after hearing parties concerned.

Talking to the media outside the courtroom, the counsel for petitioners, Asim Mansoor Khan, said that his clients had sought unsealing of the clinic and the bench allowed the petition with certain directives to be mentioned in its detailed order.

Citing the SBCA, Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) and others as respondents, Mr Alvi’s wife and son, Samina and Awab, moved the SHC and submitted that they owned a dental clinic in Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SMCHS) and the same had been functional for over three decades.

They stated that they had been complying with all regulatory, healthcare and legal guidelines, but on Oct 3, the SBCA without serving any prior notice had unlawfully sealed the subject premises.

The petitioners also contended that a team, said to be authorised by the SHCC, had also inspected the premises around an hour before a team of SBCA had arrived and sealed the clinic.

Published in Dawn, November 23th, 2024