KARACHI: An operations by Karachi’s Anti-Encroachment Department faced violent resistance across multiple areas of the city, leading to disruptions, injuries, and property damage. Unidentified individuals targeted enforcement teams, creating a tense situation and halting ongoing clearance drives.
The first reported incident took place in the Karachi Administration Employees Society, where a team from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) was attempting to remove illegal extensions on the third floor of a building. The attackers assaulted the team, resulting in injuries to four SBCA personnel who were subsequently hospitalized.
In a separate confrontation in Sector 48-B, Zaman Town, a joint operation involving the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Anti-Encroachment forces, and police was met with hostility from local residents. As the team was dismantling unauthorized structures, an angry mob attacked them, tearing the uniform of a police officer in the process. Additional police units were deployed to control the situation, and the operation was eventually halted due to the escalating violence.
Another incident occurred on M.A. Jinnah Road, where an Anti-Encroachment team arrived to carry out a clearance. Unknown assailants set fire to a police truck carrying confiscated goods, destroying both the vehicle and its contents. Following the arson attack, a large police contingent was dispatched to the area to restore order.
Ammar Khan, Senior Director of Anti-Encroachment, announced that legal action would be taken against those involved in the violence. He emphasized that no individual or group would be permitted to take the law into their own hands and assured that anti-encroachment operations would continue across Karachi.
