Tensions with Karachi Metropolitan Corporation flare as railways calls in armed personnel from other cities

Dawn · 23/10/2026، 3:54:36 AM

• PR police say step taken to protect federal assets following ‘recent incidents’ • Both sides have already lodged cases against each other over scuffle between city wardens and PR policemen KARACHI: In a clear sign of further escalation of tensions between the KMC and Pakistan Railways, the federal institution has called in additional forces from different parts of the country “equipped with arms and ammunition” to protect its assets and key points in Karachi, warning that it will respond with “full force” if any individual or institution challenges its authority. The dispute is the KMC’s Rs780 million road construction project linking Natha Khan Bridge with Pehlwan Goth, as both the federal and municipal authorities claim ownership of the land. The two sides have already lodged cases against each other, accusing one another of serious offences, including terrorism and kidnapping, while senior officials of both institutions have vowed that they would not back down from their respective positions. On Sunday the railways police stopped the construction of the dual carriageway between Natha Khan Bridge and Pehlwan Goth and Habib University, running parallel to Chakor Nullah. The railways maintained that the project encroaches on the land belonging to the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and that the construction was without authorisation. A scuffle had also broken out when KMC City Wardens Dire­ctor Saim Imran arrived at the scene, followed by heated arguments between the two sides. The KMC alleged PR policemen assaulted the City Wardens director before taking him to the railways police station. Although the City Wardens director was released after hours of talks between the two sides, the KMC high-ups moved the Sharea Faisal police to lodge an FIR against the PR police officials for kidnapping and assaulting their officer. The matter did not end there, piles of garbage were found the next day outside the PR offices and the residence of one of its senior officials, rais