HYDERABAD: An unpleasant situation was witnessed after the authorities concerned sealed over 100 shops located within police property in the middle of Monday-Tuesday night in the Chotki Ghitti area.

Scuffle took place between police and owners of the shops.

The shops were subject matter of a litigation in the apex court. The district police estate officer, Salahuddin Ayubi along with a contingent of personnel started sealing the shops.

Owners of the shops somehow got the information and gathered outside their shops, located quite adjacent to the City police station.

It caused tension in the area and even led to a scuffle between police and some shop owners. Later, they staged a sit-in outside the City police station.

The protesting shopkeepers claimed that there was no issue of their shops, but the matter was unnecessarily dragged into litigation. They raised slogans against the police. They said goods and articles worth millions of rupees were lying in the shops.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmakers, including Syed Wasim Hussain and Rashid Khan arrived to advocate shop owners’ case.

According to the police, the shops were sealed in line with the Supreme Court order. The case is fixed for hearing on July 10.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) District Emir Hafiz Tahir Majeed also joined in the protest.

On Tuesday, the aggrieved shop owners set up a camp in the Chotki Ghitti area where business community leaders and political parties’ representatives came to express solidarity with the affected traders.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026