Daily Times

The issue of Nasla Tower is as much an issue for the whole of Karachi as it is for us, Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Chairman Mohsin Shaikhani said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the ABAD chairman questioned: “Are we terrorists that we were charged with batons?” He lamented that the Sindh government had assured the association that regularisation would take place, however, Sindh Assembly passed the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021, but the relevant resolution was not passed. “Buildings are being constructed across the city without proper plans but we cannot even hold a protest?” he asked.

“Even today, 700 buildings are still under construction. No one is concerned (about whether or not due process is followed),” Shaikhani underlined, adding that no building is constructed in a single day. “Is it not the responsibility of institutions to check all matters beforehand?” he asked.

He said that the Commissioner Karachi Iqbal Memon is concerned solely about “saving his job” and that Governor Sindh Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah “are not bothered about anyone”. The ABAD chief warned that “work will be stopped everywhere where the documentation is not accepted”. He said that foreign investors will not invest in Pakistan if work is not allowed to progress.

Speaking on the occasion, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) Chairman Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo said that in Nasla Tower’s case the people who granted the 17 NOCs should be arrested. “This problem arose due to the people who gave permission (for construction),” he said, highlighting that the federation is facing difficulty in getting permission to construct its building in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Saylani Trust’s Maulana Bashir Ahmed Farooqui appealed to the chief justice to stop the machine work being carried out for the demolition of Nasla Tower. “This is not contempt of court, we are only requesting authorities to act,” he clarified.

“Aren’t buildings in other parts of the country regularised?” he asked.

Speaking at the press conference, MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari said that in the case of Nasla Tower, property was bought and sold through banks after the NOC was considered. “If the Sindh government wanted, it could have regularised Nasla Tower in one fell swoop,” he said, suggesting that the government “intervene and not allow utility connections to be cut anywhere”.

Sabzwari appealed for justice from the Supreme Court. He said that encroachments in Orangi Town and Gujjar Nalla were illegal, however, the responsibility of providing shelter lies with the state. “How will anybody trust the NOC from onwards? the MQM leader questioned. “A suo motu notice should be taken and a full bench should be formed in this regard,” he said.

A day earlier, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani had demanded that those who are responsible for issuing construction permits for the Nasla Tower building should be held responsible and punished. He had said the guilty party – whether it be the Sindh government or the Nasla Tower builder – should be punished rather than those who bought the flats. “For sake of argument if I say the builder is at fault, Sindh government is at fault, Saeed Ghani is at fault or even if Murad Ali Shah is at fault, punish them first,” he said.