HYDERABAD: The district administration on Saturday sealed an under construction premises, just adjacent to the historical Pucca Qila fortification wall, over violation of the Antiquity Act, 1975.

Assistant Commissioner City Syed Noor Hussain took the action on culture department’s January 2 letter seeking his intervention to get the ongoing work stopped. The letter stated that the construction activity as in violation of the Act.

An official of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Zeeshan Khanzada also visited the site along with his staff following the complaint. He informed the AC City that the unauthorised construction work had since been stopped. According to Mr Khanzada, the dismantling can be done only after taking permission from the SBCA regional director.

AC City then sealed the premises and closed the main entrance of the plot.

Owner of the premises Irfan Qureshi was not present at the site when the AC took the action. According to Mr Qureshi, it was around 3,000 sq-ft plot where his sawmill existed for a long time. “I have kept a distance from the fortification wall while raising the inner boundary walls to save these [Pucca Qila] walls from collapse,” he told Dawn.

He was of the view that if it was about violation of the Act’s provision of 200ft distance from inside and outside of an antiquity, then countless people have raised their structure in violation of this clause. Therefore, he argued, action should be taken against all of them as well.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2026