KARACHI: After the police in the city registered a case against two senior officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) for allegedly demolishing a heritage structure in violation of the law, the chief of the building watchdog has distanced himself from the illegal move.

The SBCA head, Ishaq Khuhro, claimed that the act was carried out with the approval of the authority’s former chief, Abdul Rasheed Solangi, and accused the commissioner of preparing a “misleading” report against him “without ascertaining facts.”

The Boat Basin police had registered an FIR against two officers of the 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, following an inquiry report that exposed a nexus between the builder mafia and the SBCA officials and showed a deliberate violation of the law.

The investigation, ordered by Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah and conducted by the Karachi commissioner, not only unearthed severe irregularities, but also pointed out coordinated efforts by government officials and the private owner of the building to demolish the structure .

The Boat Basin police registered the FIR against the SBCA Director Ashfaq Hussain Khokhar, Deputy Director Agha Kashif, and the property owner, Dhumai Cowasjee Kanja on the complaint of Muhammad Jawad Rabbani, a field officer from the Sindh culture and tourism department.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2025