KARACHI: On Friday, the Sindh High Court cancelled the local government’s approval of a “marginalised community-based festival” to be held in a Clifton park on Saturday (today). SHC suspends permission to hold ‘Scrap Fest’ at Karachi’s Clifton park
In a petition to the SHC, a non-governmental organisation claimed that the Scrap Fest’s organisers were organising an LGBTQ event.
The Karachi commissioner, deputy commissioner (South), and other respondents, as well as the attorney general, received pre-admission notices from a two-judge panel presided over by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi on February 9.
Additionally, it instructed the DC and SSP-South to attend the subsequent hearing date with the pertinent record.
“In the meanwhile, the permission/NOC granted by the respondents to hold the aforesaid festival/event on 04.02.2023 shall remain suspended. The official respondents are directed to ensure that no such festival/event shall be allowed to take place without permission of the court,” the bench ruled in its order.
“The general secretary of Al-Siddique Welfare Society filed the petition stating that the permission for Scrap Fest was illegally granted in the grab of a “marginalised community based festival”.
SHC suspends permission to hold ‘Scrap Fest’ at Karachi’s Clifton park. The petitioner’s attorney requested a restraining order to prevent the conduct of such an event at Clifton’s Urban Forest Park, which is located at Block-5.
The attorney stated that the no-objection certificate was given because the event was being held on a block of land designated as an amenity, which is only permitted to be used for plantation and greenery and cannot be utilised for any other purpose.
He said that the authorization had been granted without following the proper procedures or seeking the public’s or the locals’ input on potential objections.
The defence attorney said that locals had contacted the authorities to ask them to put an end to the event.
“It has been prayed that unless restraining orders are passed there is apprehension that law and order will be created, as the proposed event has been advertised in social media, which has seriously hurt the religious sentiment of a large number of residents of the area in particular, including petitioner and the citizen of Pakistan, in general, who are by majority Muslims and firm believers of Islamic Injunctions and observers of high moral values,” the order stated.
