• Sindh AG says Mosamiyat-Numaish contract to be awarded after completion of ‘notice period’
• Claims govt sealed project site of construction firm as it was built on KMC land
• Petitioner’s counsel says contract ‘handed over to FWO’
• Bench seeks time frame for completion of University Road construction

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court was informed on Wednesday that the provincial government had not awarded any new contract to construct Mosamiyat to Numaish corridor (Lot 2) of the much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line.

Advocate General Jawad Dero informed a two-judge constitutional bench comprising Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar and Justice Nasir Ahmed Bhanbhro that the contract will be awarded after the completion of the notice period of the firm earlier granted the contract.

He stated that in the meantime, the government had only awarded work related to drainage and rehabilitation of a road.

Last week, the provincial government had announced that it had cancelled the contract of a construction firm over lack of progress and unsatisfactory performance.

Later, the contracting firm, AM Associates and CR 3, had petitioned the SHC and submitted that they were executing the project, but the police and district administration had sealed their project site at Aladdin Park and served a termination notice without any lawful justification and contrary to the terms of the contract.

At the last hearing, the bench had appointed a nazir (court official) as commissioner to visit the site of the project and prepare an inventory of the machinery and also issued notices to the respondents.

When the hearing began on Wednesday, petitioner’s counsel Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed informed the court that the project was reportedly handed over to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

He submitted that the process of making the inventory was not competed yet.

He said the advocate general might inform the bench under which law the government had sealed the project site.

AG Dero submitted that the office of the contractors / petitioners were built on the land of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

Justice Bhanbhro remarked that the University Road was among the major arteries of the city and the people were suffering due to an inordinate delay in construction work on the subject project.

The bench suggested that a commission may be constituted to ascertain the factors behind such a delay.

The AG said as per the chief executive officer of Trans Karachi, the subject project was scheduled to be completed by 2028.

The bench expressed annoyance at TransKarachi for the delay causing hardship to the people.

It asked the AG to inform it at the next hearing about the completion of work on University Road.

The court adjourned the hearing till May 4 after one of the respondents’ counsel sought time to file objections.

The court order states: “Learned counsel for petitioner has argued the case at length and placed reliance on 1998 SCMR 2268 and unreported order of this court dated 13.12.2023 passed in CP No D-3380/2023, taken on record.

“Since report by the commissioner is awaited hence case is adjourned to 04.05.2026 at 12:00 noon. Nazir office is directed to depute three persons of his office to complete the site inspection as ordered earlier,” it concluded.

The contracting firm in its petition had claimed that provision of the entire design of the project was the responsibility of Trans Karachi but it had given only 50 per cent design to the petitioners, who executed 80pc of the work.

They had pleaded for unsealing of the project site, seeking interim restraining order for the respondents from directly or indirectly carrying out any work or initiating any tendering process on the subject project.

They also asked the SHC to appoint a Nazir to make inventory of the entire stocks at the project site and restrain the respondents from removing or using such stocks.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026