The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered elimination of any existing `no go areas' in port city of Karachi, besides asking the Federation to proceed against any political party violating Article 17 of the Constitution.

The 156-page decision is authored and announced by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heading a special bench in the open court on a suo motu case regarding law and order situation in Karachi.

The Chief Justice in his verdict made extensive observations and directed that there must be no `No Go Areas' at all in Karachi.

"If any is found or credibly reported to the Court, the Police and, if required by the Provincial Government, the Rangers shall take strong and decisive action to eliminate it.

Moreover, if such an area is proved to exist to the satisfaction of the Court, we may require the IGP himself, and if necessary the DG Rangers also, to personally lead the operation into such areas," he adds.

He says that the police and Rangers are therefore, expected to conduct the on-going operation across the board without showing any favour to any one and without being influenced from any quarter, be it political or otherwise.

In case they are asked to obey any illegal orders or to show leniency to any criminal, it will be their duty to bring it to the notice of the Court and appropriate orders will be passed accordingly, he adds.

About certain parties' pleas for banning Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) that in respect of banning any political party including MQM, against whom all the interveners mostly had voiced complaints is not within domain of the Court at this stage as in terms of Article 17(2) of the Constitution.

Elaborating the Article the CJ writes that every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan and it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to act under Article 17 for action against any party violating this Article. The Court will only review such issue at any other appropriate stage or proceeding if then necessary to determine whether the actions of any party are directly or indirectly prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan within the meaning of the Article, he adds.

He observed that the Court will remain, in appropriate proceedings, the ultimate arbiter of this question but will not allow any government to avoid its duty under the law and the Constitution. The verdict further observes that as per material brought before the Court, there are criminals who have succeeded in making their ways in political parties notwithstanding whether they are components or non-components of government, and are getting political and financial support allegedly from such parties, therefore, the political parties should denounce their affiliation with them in interest of the country and democratic set up and they should not allow them to use their names as militant outfits of the political parties.

Failure to do so may entail consequences of a penal nature against the party or person responsible, whether in office or not, it warns more.