Mayor objects to FIA sealing of Cotton Exchange building

City Mayor Murtaza Wahab has raised serious objections to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over the sealing of the Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) property, terming the move hasty, unilateral and carried out without verification of legal and factual records.

In a letter addressed to the FIA director in Sindh, the mayor stated that he recently held a meeting with representatives of the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) along with officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Land Department, during which it was disclosed that an FIR had been registered on December 13, 2025, on the complaint of the Evacuee Trust Board (ETB). The FIR alleged that KCA was not in lawful possession of the property situated at Plot No. 6, SR-4, Sarai Quarters, I I Chundrigar Road.

Mayor Wahab clarified that the land was lawfully transferred to KMC on July 31, 1936, and subsequently leased to the KCE.

Rejecting ETB's claim, the mayor said it had no legal or factual basis. He added that while a dispute exists between KMC and KCA regarding certain charges, the matter was sub judice before the Sindh High Court. Had the property belonged to ETB, he said, the board would have asserted its claim decades ago.

Industry leaders, including Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association Patron-in-Chief Javed Bilwani and Central Chairman Babar Khan, have urged the prime minister to intervene, warning that the shutdown has thrown cotton trade and textile exports into turmoil.

Mayor Wahab termed the action an attack on the country's cotton economy.