Railways Minister Contacts Karachi Mayor After Police-KMC Wardens Clash
KARACHI: The federal minister for railways has contacted Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab after the railway police KMC clash over the construction of the Sharae Faisal-Gulistan-e-Jauhar Link Road, with both sides reportedly considering withdrawing their FIRs within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Sources said the federal minister and the mayor discussed resolving the dispute through mutual understanding rather than letting it escalate. The mayor briefed the minister on the project’s details and raised concern over allegations that railway police had assaulted city wardens and detained project director Saim Imran.
The mayor reportedly termed the alleged treatment of the wardens and the project director inappropriate. The railways minister assured him that if any violation of the law by railway police was established, action would be taken against those responsible.
The railway police KMC clash: what the two FIRs allege
The railway police KMC clash has produced two competing criminal cases. Shahrah-i-Faisal police registered a case against Pakistan Railways police personnel on the complaint of KMC City Wardens Director Saim Imran, who alleged that railway police officers assaulted him and took him to an undisclosed location during the dispute over roadworks and traffic control near Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
According to the FIR, road repairs had been under way for four months on the stretch from Natha Khan Bridge to Pehlwan Goth near Chakor Nullah. Imran said he was managing traffic at the site when Railway Police SHO Ahsan Rashid arrived with other personnel. He alleged they beat him, forced him into a police vehicle and tortured him, and said he later regained consciousness at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
In a separate development, railway police registered a counter-case against KMC personnel, including Imran. That FIR reportedly cites attempted murder, terrorism, obstruction of official duties, encroachment on railway land and death threats. These are allegations at this stage; none has been proven in court.
The Rs780 million road at the centre
The controversy centres on a dual carriageway linking Natha Khan Bridge with Pehlwan Goth and Habib University, running parallel to Chakor Nullah. Valued at around Rs780 million, the project is meant to ease pressure on Sharea Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, Dalmia Road and Gulistan-i-Jauhar, with completion due by October 30.
Railways, a federal enterprise, maintains that the road encroaches on land belonging to the Karachi Circular Railway and that construction there was unauthorised. KMC officials reject the claim, saying the corporation met all legal requirements before starting work more than two months ago and questioning why the objection surfaced only weeks before completion.
A federal-provincial fault line
The confrontation has taken on a wider political colour. The railways fall under the PML-N-led federal government, while Sindh, and Karachi’s municipal administration, is governed by the PPP, and relations between the two sides are already strained over issues from governor’s rule in KP to development funds.
Karachi has seen similar jurisdictional fights before, with federal agencies and city authorities trading blame over land, utilities and development projects. The city has also witnessed railway police facing serious allegations in a separate Karachi case recently. What makes this episode stand out is how quickly it turned physical — and how directly it now involves a federal minister and the city’s mayor.
What happens next
The minister-mayor contact is the first sign of de-escalation. If both sides withdraw their FIRs in the coming days, attention will turn to settling the underlying land question: who owns the strip along Chakor Nullah, and on what terms the road can be finished by its October 30 deadline. For Karachi’s residents, already dealing with everything from a deadly factory fire at the SITE industrial area to strained civic services, the hope is that the dispute does not stall a project meant to ease their daily gridlock.
FAQs
What caused the railway police KMC clash?
Railway police objected to what they called unauthorised construction on Karachi Circular Railway land; KMC says it fulfilled all legal requirements before starting the road project.
Who intervened to resolve the dispute?
The federal minister for railways contacted Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, and the two discussed settling the matter through mutual understanding.
What do the two FIRs allege?
KMC’s City Wardens Director alleges assault and abduction by railway police; railway police allege attempted murder, terrorism and encroachment by KMC staff. Both are unproven allegations.
Will the FIRs be withdrawn?
Sources say both sides are considering withdrawing their cases within 24 to 48 hours as efforts continue to resolve the dispute.
