Railway police and Karachi municipal wardens clash over disputed road construction
A confrontation erupted between Pakistan Railways police and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation wardens over alleged illegal building on railway land, endangering a Rs780 million road project close to completion.
Pakistan Railways police stopped work on a Rs780 million dual-carriageway after alleging that Karachi Metropolitan Corporation was building on railway-owned land. The route, stretching from Natha Khan Bridge to Pehlwan Goth near Habib University and running alongside Chakor Nullah, aims to relieve congestion on major thoroughfares such as Sharea Faisal and Rashid Minhas Road. A violent altercation broke out when KMC City Wardens chief Saim Imran arrived with his team; he was taken to a railway police station and says he was severely beaten.
Railway officials maintain the land belongs to the Karachi Circular Railway and that no permission was sought, while KMC officials claim all legal requirements were met months earlier and criticize the late objection. With the Oct 30 deadline looming, the clash adds a political dimension, pitting the PML-N-led federal government against the PPP-run Sindh and Karachi administration, as both sides seek a legal resolution to protect the public-benefit project.
Why it matters
The dispute threatens a major traffic-relief road in Karachi and highlights tensions between federal and provincial authorities.
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