KARACHI: Small traders on Friday voiced serious concerns over the city’s worsening law and order and the unchecked grip of the land mafia, urging the government to enforce its authority and provide basic civic facilities to markets across the metropolis.
At a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Mehmood Hamid, President of the All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries Karachi, demanded immediate action. He said broken roads, overflowing gutters, rising mobile phone snatching, and frequent theft of motorcycles and cars have made life miserable for the public.
He called on authorities to control the land mafia, restore peace, and give traders the facilities they urgently need. He pointed out that the city’s traders contribute 70 percent of the national revenue yet are treated unfairly.
During the same press conference, widow Sahar Gul shared her ordeal. She owns 12 acres of land in the Landhi Ibrahim Hyderi Industrial Area, which she says has been forcibly occupied by the owners of a private company. She has been fighting a court case for 12 years. On May 14, the Malir court ruled in her favour and allowed her to build a boundary wall on one acre. She went to the site with her children and labourers.
The government officials and the court bailiff helped her mark the possession and signed it over. But as soon as the officials and police escort left, armed men sent by the company owners attacked her, her children, and the workers. Her children were taken hostage. She shouted for help, but the police did not return. Despite the court order, she could not hold onto her land, she added.
Sahar Gul, a heart patient, said she now lives in mental distress and constant fear. She appealed to the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, asking how she will get justice when powerful people use money to overturn court decisions.
She demanded protection and the immediate arrest and punishment of the company owners and his accomplices.
Mehmood Hamid also strongly condemned the Assistant Commissioner of Aram Bagh for sealing hundreds of shops in Karachi south and imposing heavy fines of millions of rupees. He said instead of shielding traders and ending unrest, officials are making them jobless.
He warned that small traders will no longer tolerate this cruelty and will launch a strong movement and struggle for their rights. The press conference was also addressed by Javed Haji Abdullah, Naveed Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Zeeshan Liaqat, and other trade leaders.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026