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.
The association had called for a strike by the construction sector to protest the Supreme Court’s orders for the demolition of the tower.
The protest was held a day earlier, following the apex court’s directives that the demolition work be completed within a week. As demonstrators advanced on to Shahrah-e-Faisal, the police baton-charged them, also tossing teargas shells their way.
Addressing a press conference in the city today, the ABAD chairman questioned: “Are we terrorists that we were charged with batons?
“The chairman lamented that the Sindh government had assured the association that regularisation would take place, however, yesterday 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.Shedding light on the association’s demands, the chairman stated that ABAD wants the government to develop a one-window facility for the process of granting permissions.
He decried the “parallel” legal systems operating in the country. “No country should have two sets of laws.”Speaking of the Nasla Tower demolition, he said demolition orders were given five years after the construction of the building.
He questioned how people will invest after this.Shaikhani highlighted that 17 NOCs are required to construct a building. He said there is more focus on demolition and less on compensating the affectees.
The ABAD chairman demanded the government create an institution “that will not bother anyone after the approval of an NOC”.He stated that 300 construction plans are still pending approval in Karachi after many years.
Shaikhani appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the army chief and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to resolve all the issues the sector faces.
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”.
