ABAD chief informs IG: Builders receiving extortion calls from foreign states

KARACHI: Inspector General of Sindh Police Javed Alam Odho admitted that medico-legal board in Mir Raza case has capacity issue and an initial report had been followed by conflicting facts, complicating the investigation team’s work.

Addressing a ceremony at ABAD House, he said that Sindh police would recommend reforms in medico-legal in the final report of Mir Raza case.

He said that second board and investigation team are reexamining the case and vowed police would not rest until those involved are exposed.

He said that police action against extortionists has not been limited to the specific names provided by the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), but has been extended to other extortion suspects as well.

IG Sindh said he would not rest until the murder case of Mir Raza is resolved, and pledged to work toward settling builders’ and developers’ problems through a committee headed by the Karachi Commissioner.

Odho said crime in Karachi has dropped by 14 percent, while incidents of murder and violence across Sindh have fallen by 17 percent.

He reported that out of total 54 extortion cases, 42 cases have been solved, while red warrants have also been issued against four extortionists.

The IG further said that no crime incidents have been reported on the National Highway in recent months, adding that the overall crime situation across Sindh is satisfactory.

He said police were working on another significant case and would soon share positive developments. Builders, he said, are among the groups most affected by extortion.

Meanwhile, ABAD Chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakshi said that builders are receiving extortion calls from numbers registered in Uzbekistan and other countries, along with bomb-threat warnings against their projects.

He said that police investigation in these incidents was eroding public trust in state institutions.

Bakshi said Mir Raza’s parents deserve justice, and warned that after Surjani and Malir, complaints of land grabbing were now emerging along the M9 motorway as well.

He said ABAD had raised the land-grabbing issue at every available forum, but effective action against Karachi’s land and extortion mafias remained essential.

He alleged that when ABAD members attempt to reclaim possession of grabbed land, cases are often registered against them.

He said police raids continue despite bail being granted, while court orders to vacate illegally occupied land go unimplemented.

Bakshi named Samad Kathiawari and Jameel Changa as particularly active in extortion and called on relevant authorities to act against them and all others involved.

He appealed for police support in protecting ABAD members’ businesses and investments.

Bakshi said that Bilawal Zardari had formed several committees, including a Business Coordination Committee, chaired by the Commissioner of Karachi, and urged that these bodies take effective steps to resolve the business community’s problems.

Separately, Syed Moeez Zaidi, convener of ABAD’s Law and Order Committee, said extortion remains the single biggest problem facing ABAD members and appealed to the IG Sindh for strict action against those responsible.

The event was attended by DIG Traffic Peer Muhammad Shah, Additional IG Azad Khan, SSPs from all four districts, ABAD Vice Chairman Tariq Aziz, Southern Region Chairman Ahmed Awais Thanvi, former chairman Junaid Ashraf Talpur, and a large number of ABAD members.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026