Sindh Caretaker Home Minister Brigadier (retd) Haris Nawaz on Saturday assured the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) that land grabbing would be wiped off from Karachi.
He said ABAD had been playing an important role in the functioning of more than 70 industries related to the construction industry and so it was strengthening the national economy.
Officials said the home minister addressed ABAD members at the ABAD House on Saturday. ABAD Chairman Asif Sumsum, Senior Vice Chairman Ibrahim Habib, Vice Chairman Zeeshan Siddiqui, Southern Region Chairman Mustafa Shaikhani, former chairmen of ABAD, District East SSP Syed Irfan Ali Bahadur, Jamshed Town SP Alina Rajpar, other senior police officers and ABAD members were present on the occasion.
Praising the construction industry, Nawaz said it was providing jobs to thousands of people and the builders needed all-out support to continue their construction activities. He maintained that the provincial government had been taking all possible steps to facilitate the construction industry.
The home minister was of the view that Karachi was capable of supporting the national economy and the government was taking every step to bring back the lost glory of the city. He said the caretaker government was cracking down on cross border smuggling of dollars.
Nawaz said the caretaker government was making efforts to control law and order in Sindh. Street crime in Karachi had largely been controlled and action against narcotics was being taken will full force, he maintained.
Addressing the gathering, the ABAD chairman said if the Sindh police had not rendered sacrifices, the construction industry in the city might have closed down during 2011 till 2013. He said that despite the resource constraint and adverse situation, the Sindh police had been doing their best in Karachi.
He said the construction industry was considered as the backbone of the national economy and it was providing thousands of jobs and homes to people of the country while also supporting almost a hundred allied industries.
Sumsum lamented that hurdles were being created against the construction industry as approvals of construction projects were being delayed deliberately and by-laws were changed overnight through notifications.
He said the construction industry had come to a halt due to unnecessary changing in by-laws. The ABAD chairman added that the construction industry was most-affected when there was no law and order. He said the home minister’s assurance of providing peaceful environment to builders and developers was appreciable and expressed the hope that the next elected government would also follow the same policy.