ABAD announces to rebuild Nasla Tower after FCC verdict

The Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) has welcomed the Federal Constitutional Court's verdict to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling ordering the demolition of Karachi's Nasla Tower and announced plans to purchase land and reconstruct the building.

The FCC recently set aside the Supreme Court's 2021 judgment that had declared the high-rise illegal and ordered its demolition. The Sindh government, ABAD and the affected allottees welcomed the ruling, describing it as a significant legal development and calling for the restoration of losses suffered by those affected as well as measures to revive the construction sector.

The Nasla Tower case emerged during the Supreme Court's suo motu proceedings on illegal constructions, encroachments and the recovery of public land in Karachi.

During the earlier proceedings, government authorities maintained that the original plot at the intersection of Shahrah-e-Faisal and Shahrah-e-Quaideen measured 780 square yards but had increased to 1,121 square yards through changes in lease records and subdivisions over the years.

According to official records presented before the court, the additional 341 square yards encroached on government land and the road's right of way. The roles of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Revenue Department and Karachi Development Authority (KDA) also came under judicial scrutiny.

On October 25, 2021, a Supreme Court bench headed by then Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed declared the building illegal and ordered its complete demolition. The court also directed the Sindh government to compensate the affected allottees and recover the amount from the builder and officials found responsible.

The 15-storey building was demolished in phases between November 2021 and January 2022, displacing 45 families who lost their homes and investments.