FIR registered against SBCA officials, heritage site owner

The Boat Basin police have registered an FIR against two officers of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the owner of a heritage building for their alleged involvement in the unauthorised demolition of the historic Kharas House, located in Bath Island Road, Clifton.

SBCA Director Ashfaq Hussain Khokhar, Deputy Director Agha Kashif, and the property owner, Dhumai Cowasjee Kanja, have been nominated as accused in the FIR registered on the complaint of Muhammad Jawad Rabbani, a field officer from the Sindh Culture and Tourism Department, acting on behalf of his department following directions from the provincial chief secretary.

According to the FIR, the SBCA officers allegedly approved the demolition of the heritage building without obtaining the necessary clearance from the Advisory Committee, as required under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994. The chief secretary also issued a show-cause notice to SBCA Director General Muhammad Ishaq Khuhro over the incident. Official correspondence from the Sindh Local Govt Dept indicates that Khuhro left for the US on April 24, however, he has yet to resume his duties.