HYDERABAD: After showing much reluctance for several days, the Fort police on Saturday finally registered an FIR of the extensive damage caused to a heritage property, located within the proximity of the historical Pucca Qila.

They had been raising different objections to the contents of the complaint, sought to be lodged by a culture department official under Sections 18 of the Sindh Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, 1994.

The complainant, Rukun ul Din Qureshi, who is the focal person for heritage buildings in Hyderabad, had to visit the Fort police station thrice in as many days before the police agreed to register the FIR vide crime No. 67/26.

It was lodged on the basis of a letter from the director general of Antiquities & Archaeology addressed to the Fort SHO.

The case pertained to the May 3 fire on the upper storey of the Zakriya Dawakhana, a building built in 1939 and enlisted as a heritage property protected under the relevant law.

The complainant has stated that the building is located at Ward-E, Street No. 2, Pacca Qila, as entered under City Survey No. 228. It is owned by multiple individuals represented by Mohammad Faisal, son of Mohammad Ahmed.

According to Mr Qureshi, he rushed to the site after coming to know about the fire in the building and saw that the blaze had engulfed its first floor.

He stated that Assistant Commissioner City Syed Noor Hussain and Town Chairman Mian Sarfaraz Kalhoro, Mustafa Bilal Shaikh, Fort SHO Inspector Liaquat Kumbhar and others were also present there. He further stated that the ground floor of the building was found padlocked but had to be unlocked by Rescue-1122 staff.

Mr Qureshi stated that when he, along with the AC, town chairman and others, entered the building, they discovered that construction work was underway and big craters had already been dug on the ground floor without mandatory permission from the competent authority.

He stated that such work was being carried out under the supervision of Mr Faisal and his associates.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2026