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 Supreme Court orders.
Rejects mayor’s allegations of ‘unlawful’ action, says it’s only assisting the ETPB under SC orders, seeks help in ongoing probe
“The FIA has been extending assistance to the EPTB in relation to retrieval/restoration of properties lying in trust with ETPB, in compliance with the operative directions contained in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan’s order dated 16-11-2021,” the letter stated.
The agency said the ETPB had formally sought the FIA’s assistance for retrieval of the subject property and for initiating legal action after certain title and ownership documents “prima facie, appeared to be forged/fabricated”.

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