KARACHI: Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) is spearheading the formation of a ‘Sindh Business Forum’, a unified pressure group comprising presidents and secretaries of all business associations across the province to address pressing civic and economic issues.
The announcement was made by outgoing ABAD Chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakshi along with Patron In chief Mohsin Sheikhani, upcoming chairman Hanif Gohar, Seninor Vice Chairman Afzaal Hameed, Ahmad Ovais Thanvi Chairman Southern Region and Tariq Aziz, vice chairman ABAD.
He detailed the association’s achievements over his two-year tenure and outlined future strategies for the real estate sector.
According to Bakshi, the newly proposed Sindh Business Forum will operate on a strict five-point agenda. The forum will act as a pressure group to compel provincial authorities to take immediate action on revamping Sindh’s crumbling infrastructure, eradicating land grabbing and extortion mafias, ensuring merit-based employment in provincial departments, fully digitalising Sindh government departments, and resolving the chronic water shortage crisis.
Highlighting ABAD’s extensive efforts over the past two years, Bakshi announced several major policy shifts and reliefs for the construction industry.
Key milestones include the revival of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Housing, issue related completion certificates for grey structures has been resolved.
ABAD facilitated the issuance of Interpol Red Warrants against notorious land grabbers, including Wasiullah Lakho, Jamil Changa, and Samad Kathiawari, ensuring their arrest at any international airport.
Tax reliefs were also achieved, including the abolishment of Section 7E and a 50 percent reduction in taxes under Section 236C. Additionally, builders and developers who have paid taxes under Section 7F are now exempt from payments under Section 236C.
In a move to boost foreign investment, the Roshan Digital Account parameters have been expanded, allowing resident Pakistanis with foreign assets to legally bring their capital into the country, Bakshi informed.
Bakshi also announced the lifting of the 2019 Supreme Court ban, imposed by former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, on the change of land use in the Karachi region, marking a historic win for developers in 2026.
“For the first time, developers can access project financing up to 10 billion rupees at a 5 percent rate, provided they maintain an Escrow account,” he added.
Furthermore, he said that ABAD is set to make its debut in the capital markets, with its shares will hopefully be available on the Stock Exchange via REITs within the next three to six months.
Bakshi also pledged that ABAD would construct homes for the affectees of Nasla Tower absolutely free of cost, once the legal title of the land is finally cleared.
Addressing the severe housing crisis, he revealed that ABAD had formally requested the Sindh Government six months ago to allocate 10,000 acres of land at departmental rates for a state-of-the-art, low-cost housing project.
Speaking at the event, ABAD Patron-in-Chief Mohsin Sheikhani delivered a hard-hitting critique of the governance system.
Sheikhani remarked that while the Chief Minister of Sindh wants to work and is often helpful, he is constrained by a system that dictates the pace of progress.
Taking a veiled dig at Bahria Town, Sheikhani criticised past policies where commercial projects across Karachi were forcibly halted, and all state resources and approvals were exclusively diverted to facilitate a single mega-developer, questioning where Bahria is now.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026