A dispute has emerged between the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the Sindh government over the proposed auction of 160 high-value properties in Karachi, with the provincial authorities challenging the board’s plan to sell assets worth billions of rupees.
The Sindh Minority Affairs Department claimed that the properties were owned by the provincial government and called for the immediate cancellation of the auction.
The department has also published notices in newspapers to challenge the proposed sale.
The ETPB had issued an advertisement announcing the auction of 160 valuable properties located in Karachi South.
In response, the Minority Affairs Department formally wrote to the board, asserting that the properties belong to the Sindh government.
In its letter, the department argued that following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, ownership of the properties rests with the provincial government.
It questioned how the Evacuee Trust Property Board could proceed with the auction of assets it claimed were under Sindh’s ownership.
The department further stated that properties left behind before the creation of Pakistan are now the property of the Sindh government.
The Minority Affairs Department urged the board to withdraw the auction advertisement without delay.
It also published separate public notices in newspapers warning people not to purchase any of the disputed properties being offered by the Evacuee Trust Property Board, stating that any buyers would do so at their own risk and responsibility until the ownership dispute is resolved.
