THROUGH a letter dated Sept 10, the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), Karachi, sealed on Sept 22 about 40 shops in phase VI in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) under section 118 of the Cantonment Act, 1924, declaring the activity of repairing auto vehicles as illegal.

Section 118 does not prohibit establishment of auto workshops. The section deals with nuisance specifying three points; it defines nuisance in the form of 30 acts, functions and activities. Auto repairing, puncture repairing or battery charging/selling are not included in the list.

This means that these activities are not nuisance and, therefore, section 118 is not applicable in such a case.

Further, the said section talks about penalty in the monetary sense for nuisance and not of in terms of sealing such establishments.

The act of sealing is not backed by law and, therefore, is illegal. It does not empower the CBC to seal the shops in commercial areas meant for commercial activities. It means that the sealing of the shops is an illegal act.

There are hundreds of cantonments in Pakistan. Is such a section only for the CBC and is not applicable to the other cantonments?

There are 400-500 auto repair, tyre repair and battery shops in the DHA. Why only 40 shops in phase VI have been sealed, while about 450 are doing their business elsewhere? Is this not an act of discrimination? Apparently, it is, and, that being the case, it happens to be a crime committed by a government agency.

Major (retd) Shamshad Ali Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2022