KARACHI: An anti-corruption court on Monday rescinded the pre-arrest bail granted to former director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority( SBCA) Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka in the Nasla Tower case.
Special Judge Anti-Corruption Court heard the case as the former SBCA chief appeared in court. The state investigating officer urged the court to cancel the bail application of Qadir and other suspects.
The lawyer said Qadir illegally approved the map of the high-rise building and allotted state land. Qadir has received interim bail from the court in the case after submitting surety bonds of Rs500,000.
The court cancelled the pre-arrest bail and ordered Qadir’s immediate arrest. The court also ordered to arrest the other suspects in the case.
Manzoor Qadir and other accused are accused of increasing the land of Nasla Tower from 700 yards to 1100 square yards. They are also accused of illegally passing the building’s map from the SBCA.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan took notice of the illegal construction of Nasla Tower and ordered to register a case. The 15-storey building on Sharah-e-Faisal was demolished on the directives of the Supreme Court for having been built in violation of laws.
In March this year, the court indicted 18 people, including officers of the SBCA and office-bearers of the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society, in a case pertaining to encroachment upon a road where the now-demolished building was illegally built.
Earlier last week, an anti-corruption court granted pre-arrest bail to Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka after he surrendered in the Nasla Tower case.
On Wednesday, the former SBCA chief appeared in court and moved a bail application. Qadir had been absconding in Canada for several years after being named in corruption cases.
Defence counsel Barrister Iftikhar Ahmed Shah submitted that his client being a government employee was on ex-Pakistan leave at the time of registration of the case, so he could not join the trial.
He further submitted that the applicant wanted to surrender to the court and join the trial proceedings. He urged to grant bail since he feared his arrest at the hands of the police in this case. Judge Muhammad Ahsan Khan Durrani granted him interim bail without considering the merits of the case.
The building’s land owner, project builders, former SBCA director general, SMCHS officials, master plan department director and deputy director, and others have been booked for illegal construction of Nasla Tower by occupying a service road.
