Commissioner & AIG visit ABAD: ‘The 2009 land record automation project may be undone to start afresh’

KARACHI: Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi and Additional Inspector General (AIG) Azad Khan admitted critical administrative and operational failures, revealing that Sindh’s land record automation project launched in 2009 has failed completely and will likely be undone to start afresh, while the Sindh police currently lack any mechanism or technology to monitor and track international extortion calls being made through online platforms.

Addressing at an event hosted by Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD), Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi highlighted that while both Punjab and Sindh simultaneously initiated their land automation drives in 2009, Punjab successfully completed its digitalization, whereas the initiative in Sindh collapsed due to poor execution.

He acknowledged that land allocation and land usage in Karachi have historically been abused by both government officials and private sector builders.

Expressing grave concern over the structural breakdown of the metropolis, Naqvi pointed out that Karachi has been operating without a comprehensive Master Plan since the 1950s, creating an urgent need to formulate a new urban framework, while also questioning ABAD’s long-standing silence over the judicial ban on land allocation that has remained in place for the past 15 years.

Adding to the administrative concerns, AIG Karachi Azad Khan shared major security updates and acknowledged the limitations faced by law enforcement agencies in combating digital crime and extortion networks.

Khan disclosed that despite rigorous and ongoing investigations into the high-profile Meer Raza murder case, investigators have so far failed to identify any primary suspect or establish the underlying motive behind the killing.

Touching upon broader security metrics, the AIG stated that while police actions have eliminated 10 criminals and led to the arrest of 42 suspects involved in extortion, and despite a general decline in land encroachment and overall crime, the city witnessed a sudden spike in criminal incidents during the month of September. He assured the business community that the police and revenue departments are maintaining strong coordination, which has yielded visible results on the ground.

On the other hand, ABAD Chairman Hassan Bakhshi and former Patron-in-Chief Mohsin Sheikhani voiced deep anxiety over systemic bottlenecks, extortion threats, and the deteriorating business climate. Bakhshi emphasized that while senior police officers remain cooperative, the persistent “Thana Culture” at the grassroots level presents an enormous challenge for investors.

He said that Pakistan suffers from a national deficit of 14 million houses, yet the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has approved merely 1,039 public sale projects over the last 16 years, directly triggering a wave of illegal construction that has resulted in nearly 42,000 unauthorized structures and portions across Karachi.

Sheikhani warned that systemic decay, lack of digitalization, and rampant extortion are pushing nearly one million Pakistanis to leave the country every year, cautioning that the younger generation is losing faith in staying despite the nation’s vast natural resources, and urged immediate policy reforms to restore confidence and streamline business processes.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026