Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday met a delegation of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), led by Hassan Bakshi, and reiterated that his government would not tolerate land grabbing or extortion in any form.
The ABAD delegation included Afzal Hameed, Hanif Gohar and other office-bearers. Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
The development comes a day after Karachi’s builders and developers threatened to shut down their businesses and stage a sit-in outside Sindh Chief Minister’s House, alleging that they had been receiving extortion calls from foreign numbers, including those traced to Dubai and Iran, with the callers demanding millions of rupees.
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“Over the last five months, at least ten members of the ABAD have received extortion calls, with demands totaling Rs5 billion and all the call were being made from Dubai and Iranian numbers,” ABAD Chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakshi said, addressing a press conference.
The extortionists issue written slips and if the recipients refuse to accept them, they resort to indiscriminate firing at our business sites, Bakshi added.
“The extortionists even write their names, phone numbers, and bank account details on the slips, yet no action has been taken against them,” he maintained.
CM Murad said he had listened to ABAD’s press conference a day earlier and felt the matter should have been brought directly to him instead of being raised in the media. He made it clear that land grabbing would not be allowed anywhere in Sindh.
“Under no circumstances can encroachment on land be permitted,” he asserted. “Clear instructions have already been issued to divisional and district administrations that I will not tolerate illegal occupation of land in any form,” the chief minister said.
The ABAD representatives informed the chief minister that a few months ago he had taken strict action against land grabbing, after which no fresh encroachment had taken place on their lands.
They said they were ready to work jointly with the government to remove any old encroachments that might still exist, and a consensus was reached to move forward together in this regard.
During the meeting, the delegation handed over to the chief minister copies of extortion “parchis” (slips) they had received, along with the telephone numbers of those allegedly sending them from abroad. They also apprised the CM in detail of the issues being faced by ABAD members.
The chief minister said ABAD should have immediately approached the relevant authorities when such demands were made. “If anyone gave you an extortion chit or if any payment was made, you should have approached the home minister,” he said.
ABAD’s leadership informed the meeting that about 10 cases of extortion had surfaced over the past year. The police briefed the ABAD delegation on the progress made in these 10 cases so far. “Police launched an extensive operation and arrested 50 extortionists and sent them to jail,” the home minister said, adding that six criminals had been killed in police encounters.
Murad directed the police to respond swiftly to every complaint from ABAD. “I have given clear instructions to the police to take immediate action on ABAD’s complaints,” he said. He added that action would also be taken, with the help of the federal government, against those orchestrating extortion calls from abroad.
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“We have decided, with the support of the federal government, to proceed against those who sit abroad and make extortion calls,” he said. “We had earlier eliminated extortionists from this city, and we will once again bring them to justice.”
The inspector general of police informed the meeting that he had already held discussions with ABAD representatives and that action had followed those meetings. The IGP further briefed the meeting that, on ABAD’s complaint, three men linked to an extortionist operating from abroad had been arrested.
The meeting decided that the police would take strict action on every single complaint lodged by ABAD. Murad issued specific, case-by-case directions to the police and civil administration for the resolution of all issues raised by the builders’ body.
“I will also talk to the federal government so that those extortionists sitting abroad can be arrested,” the chief minister said. “We had wiped out extortionists from this city before, and we will once again ensure they are brought to account.”
At the end of the meeting, the ABAD delegation thanked the chief minister for his personal interest in resolving their problems and expressed confidence that the government’s actions would help restore confidence among builders and investors in Karachi’s construction sector.
The chief minister told the ABAD delegation that he would visit their office and meet with all office bearers and members to strengthen coordination and eliminate any communication gaps.
