Protesting ABAD chairman claims Nasla Tower was duly approved

KARACHI: We are suspending all the construction work everywhere in the city in protest and will keep it that way until we know what offices should we seek approvals from for our building projects, said protesting builders’ association chairman Mohsin Sheikhani as authorities demolish the illegal high-rise on Sharea Faisal, ARY News reported Friday.

All the gazetted offices had approved Nasla Tower before it was built and the builders had secured legal approvals and no-objection certificates, Mohsin Sheikhani, Association Of Builders And Developers (ABAD) chairman, said as he was allegedly washed away with police baton-charge.

He said police charged against the protestors, thrashed them, and arrested people. We were dealt with shelling and baton whips, he claimed.

If the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) is corrupt, appoint for us the office whose approvals the court shall admit, he lamented. We expend billions of rupees in building the projects and courts order their demolitions, he said.

Reproving ABAD claims, the police said they have neither made any arrests during the baton charge nor have they injured people.

The police said they only acted against those who affected and interfered in the state’s functioning.

The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of East said the demolition is on the court orders and will continue since no one can now stop it. But he added that the police will not allow anyone to blockade roads and clog traffic flow.

Police baton-charge protesters near Nasla Tower

As earlier reported, the police baton-charged the people, who staged a protest against the demolition of Nasla Tower — a residential building located in Sindhi Muslim Society, recently declared illegal by the Supreme Court.

The protestors tried to enter the building to halt the demolition process of the building. The police tried to stop the protestors and later restored to baton-charge and fired gas shells as the protestors kept on coming.

Earlier, Mohsin Shekhani, chairman ABAD reached the demolition site to show solidarity with the protestors.

Talking to the newsmen, Shekhani said everyone is afraid of demolition of their buildings, one should tell us from whom we have to take permission for the construction in Karachi?

We have stopped all the construction projects in Karachi as we don’t have any other option. “We have to convince our investors.”