KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on Tuesday filed petitions in the Sindh High Court (SHC) challenging the sealing of the historic Karachi Cotton Exchange building and the forcible eviction of its tenants.
KMC contended that the sealing order, jointly issued by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), was issued without prior notice and exceeded their jurisdiction. The petitions argued that the property is no longer a federal subject following the 18th Amendment and the Sindh Evacuee Trust Properties (Management & Disposal) Act, 2019, which vested all such properties in the province.
Read More: KMC terms sealing of Karachi Cotton Exchange unlawful
Representing the petitioner, advocate Haider Waleed and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab described the December 12 ex-parte sealing order as unlawful and an attempt to usurp the heritage property. They claimed the FIA had carried out a forceful raid, ejecting tenants, and lodged an FIR on December 13 against KMC officials under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, along with the Public Properties (Removal of Encroachment) Ordinance, 2021.
The lawyers emphasised that the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) holds a valid lease for the property, initially granted in 1936 for 99 years and renewed in 1982 for another 99 years, extending till 2081. They also challenged the legality of a 1963 gazette entry cited by the FIA, stating that under the Pakistan Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1957, no property after January 1, 1957, could be classified as evacuee property.
KMC requested the court to declare the sealing order, eviction notice, and FIR unlawful and unconstitutional, and sought interim relief to suspend coercive actions against KMC officials, tenants, and occupants until the petitions are resolved.
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Following a preliminary hearing, a two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Adnanul Karim Memon, issued an interim order restraining the FIA from taking any coercive action based on the FIR until January 9.