KARACHI: The stand-off over the historical Karachi Cotton Exchange building has escalated further as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) not only rejected the mayor’s statement, in which he described the FIA’s action as “unlawful”, but has gone a step further, accusing the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) of relying on “fake” and “forged” documents to assert ownership of the building. Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab a day earlier had challenged the FIA and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and declared their recent sealing of the heritage Karachi Cotton Exchange building on I.I. Chundrigar Road “unlawful”. He also claimed that the building is “municipal land” owned by the KMC. However, in an immediate reaction, the FIA came up with a sharp and strong reply, further deepening the controversy. The FIA rejected the mayor’s claim that the action was “unilateral”, “hasty” and “unlawful”, insisting that it was acting in aid of the ETPB under the Sup...
FIA declares Karachi Metropolitan Corporation documents relating to cotton exchange building ‘forged’
KARACHI: The stand-off over the historical Karachi Cotton Exchange building has escalated further as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) not only rejected the mayor’s statement, in which he described the FIA’s action as “unlawful”, but has gone a step further, accusing the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) of relying on “fake” and “forged” documents to assert ownership of the building. Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab a day earlier had challenged the FIA and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and declared their recent sealing of the heritage Karachi Cotton Exchange building on I.I. Chundrigar Road “unlawful”. He also claimed that the building is “municipal land” owned by the KMC. However, in an immediate reaction, the FIA came up with a sharp and strong reply, further deepening the controversy. The FIA rejected the mayor’s claim that the action was “unilateral”, “hasty” and “unlawful”, insisting that it was acting in aid of the ETPB under the Sup...