KARACHI: The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) has withdrawn a petition filed in the Sindh High Court challenging the evacuation of an old building on I.I. Chundrigar Road, which it claims to own.

On Dec 12, the association issued a press release that read that “an unlawful raid was conducted on the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building jointly by the Evacuee Trust and the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] despite the fact that KCA is in lawful possession of the property under a valid lease issued by the Karachi Municipal Corporation, extending up to the year 2081”.

“We are going to have talks in Islamabad to resolve this issue,” KCA Chairman Khawaja Mohammad Zubair told Dawn.

The sudden confiscation of the building created serious kind of uncertainty in the cotton and textile sector while the country is already facing goods transport strike.

Association’s chairman says talks will be held in Islamabad to resolve issue

The KCA plays a pivotal role in the country’s cotton economy and the entire trade including banks, insurance, textiles, exports, ginners, growers are dependent on its daily price fixation mechanism under its approved regulations.

“We have started issuing cotton spot rates from today [Wednesday],” Mr Zubair said.

Cotton traders with offices in the old building are not sure about its status.

One of the traders said the Evacuee Trust might acquire the building.

“We can’t fight with the government,” he said, adding that the traders could start paying rent to the government for the offices.

According to the KCA, the association was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 before Partition.

The property was leased out by the KMC to Seth Osman Saleh Mahome, Seth Haji Abdul Rahim and Seth Abdul Gani.

It argues that the land was originally leased by the KMC for 99 years in 1883, and was later purchased by the KCA Limited in 1936.

Subsequently, after the expiry of the lease, the KCA says the lease was renewed once more for a period of 99 years from 1982 to 2081 after the submission of an application to the KMC.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025