Restaurant owner says premises razed sans notice

Restaurant owner appealed to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali to take notice of the incident

KARACHI:

Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (COAP) Chairman Khalid Arain said on Friday that the district management illegally damaged their restaurant without any prior notice and caused a loss of millions of rupees.

He appealed to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali to take notice of the incident. Khalid Arain was addressing a press conference at Dua Hotel on Super Highway.

"Our hotel setup on Super Highway was demolished on Friday on the orders of East district deputy commissioner," Arain said adding that action was taken without any prior notice. "The dining facility had been razed to the ground when we arrived," he said.

The revenue official mukhtiarkar and other government workers had also fled the scene after demolition carried out with the backup of a large contingent of police.

"People stole the furniture, fixture, equipment and equipment of the eatery I have owned since 2005," Arain said.

From 2005 till date, I have not received a single notice from the Sindh Revenue Department."

He said that a low-rank revenue official, Tapedar Aashiq Tonio, was present during the demolition of the restaurant. When questioned, Tonio said "we got verbal order to demolish Dua Hotel."

Arain said that he will approach the court for compensation.

He further said that Aashiq Tonio is posted in Gulzar-e-Hijri, but taking action  in other areas on the order of the 'Karachi system' - an elite group of land grabbers including powerful politicians, bureaucrats, law-enforcement top-guns and persons of key posts in land revenue and KDA .

Arain said that DSP Sohail Faiz Rao was trying to become another Rao Anwar. Sohail Faiz is involved in taking bribes from land grabbers and more bribes from victims to get their land released.

The DSP is working for the 'system' which got him posted for the purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2022.