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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday met a delegation of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) at the Chief Minister House, where he assured strict action against land grabbing and extortion in the city, ARY News reported.
The ABAD delegation was led by Hassan Bakhshi, with Afzal Hameed and Hanif Gohar also in attendance. The meeting was attended by the Sindh home minister, the mayor of Karachi, the chief secretary, the inspector general of police, and other senior officials.
Murad Ali Shah said he had listened to ABAD members’ press conference held a day earlier and noted that extortion-related complaints had been directly conveyed to him. He stressed that land grabbing would not be tolerated under any circumstances in Karachi and said clear instructions had been issued to the administration to maintain zero tolerance against encroachments.
ABAD officials informed the meeting that strict action had been taken against land grabbers a few months ago, after which no new land occupations had been reported. Both sides agreed on a joint strategy to eliminate land grabbing across Karachi.
The ABAD delegation provided the chief minister with extortion slips and phone numbers used by criminals, and briefed him on issues faced by the construction and development sector.
The chief minister said that in cases of extortion threats, formal requests are submitted to the Sindh home minister for immediate action. He also asked that names be provided if any killings had taken place.
ABAD leadership identified 10 extortion cases over the past year, while police presented a detailed progress report on these cases during the meeting.
The chief minister said the Sindh government would work collectively for the city’s improvement and business growth. He added that he would raise the issue of arresting extortionists operating from outside Sindh with the federal government.
Sindh Home Minister informed the meeting that 50 extortionists have already been arrested and sent to jail, while the IG Sindh said police operations are ongoing and similar meetings with ABAD have been held previously.
The chief minister directed authorities to take immediate action on ABAD’s complaints and decided to seek federal assistance against extortionists operating from outside the province.
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