Lawlessness in Karachi perturbs business community

They lament increase in land grabbing that adversely impacts exports of port city

KARACHI:

The business community has expressed serious concern over the growing menace of land grabbing amid a deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Idrees underlined that land grabbing activities were again on the rise, particularly in District West, Malir district, Scheme 33 and Jamshoro district, thus increasing the miseries of business community and general public.

Moreover, the deteriorating law and order situation in the city “stands unresolved”, he said, adding that the relevant departments and law enforcing agencies seemed unbothered by the rising lawlessness.

“Land grabbing activities including illegal allotments are being carried out under the supervision of government officials,” Idrees pointed out.

He held the view that with the involvement of the revenue department, district administration, anti-encroachment department and police, a large number of plots worth billions of rupees were sold illegally, particularly those plots that were located in the developing areas of the city.

“Whether public or private property, precious land is fearlessly being taken over by some highly organised and powerful groups of land grabbers,” he noted.

After illegally occupying, these plots were sold by making fake documents, he said, adding that resultantly the actual owner had to spend a lot of time in court in order to prove its ownership.

“The law and order situation in Karachi has worsened,” Idrees lamented.

Quoting the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) data, he mentioned that a total of 186 vehicles and 4,486 motorbikes were either snatched or stolen during February 2022 alone. Around 2,199 phones were also snatched during the month, he said.

“Although the CPLC data represents the entire Sindh province, it is a matter of grave concern that around 95% of all these criminal activities took place in Karachi, which clearly indicates a vulnerable security environment in the city,” he said.

Despite the worsening law and order situation, the law enforcing agencies “remain not more than silent spectators”, he added.

“The federal and provincial governments, in the larger interest of the country as well as Sindh province, must put all their political differences aside and work collectively to resolve the issues of Karachi,” Idress underlined.

He was of the view that if the situation was not tackled on priority, it would adversely impact the entire country “due to Karachi’s colossal role in the economy of Pakistan”, he cautioned.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Arif Habib Commodities CEO Ahsan Mehanti underlined that foreign direct investments (FDIs) were witnessing a downfall in Pakistan, mainly owing to security issues and economic uncertainty.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2022.

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