KARACHI: The office of a union committee (UC) of Gulberg Town was sealed after the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) issued a notice over the alleged illegal occupation of a park.

Officials of UC-8 in Gulberg Town told Dawn that they found their offices, located inside Shadab Ground in Federal B. Area’s Block 11, sealed when they arrived in the morning.

The office had been sealed overnight by the assistant commissioner of the Gulberg subdivision of District Central, forcing the staff to sit outside the facility. The UC office, they said, had been there for the past many years and was serving the area’s residents.

“Further investigation revealed that the office was sealed following a KDA notice issued to the UC on October 5, declaring it an encroachment and an illegal occupation of KDA land,” said a UC official. “The notice had asked the UC chairman to vacate the building, saying that it stood on KDA land that was to be auctioned. However, the office was sealed overnight before any hearing or discussion on the matter, as mentioned in the notice.”

The action not only brought the UC’s operation to a halt but also raised questions about the KDA’s claim, as the park and its playground had recently been renovated by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at a cost of millions of rupees, without any government agency objecting to the presence of the office.

The move drew a strong reaction from local government representatives of the area, who accused lower-level KDA officials of taking “illegal action” to serve the vested interests of “certain elements”.

“And this is happening mainly in Central District,” said Gulberg Town Chairman Nusratullah of the Jamaat-i-Islami. “All of a sudden, the KDA has realised that its land has been encroached upon and that too by the elected representatives who use the place only at specific times for public service. It’s ridiculous”, he added.

The town chairman’s concerns appeared to gain weight when senior KDA officials not only denied supporting the move but also expressed ignorance about it. When contacted, KDA Director of Estate and Enforcement Zain Shah told Dawn that it was incorrect to link the sealing of the office by the district administration to the KDA.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2026