KARACHI is a strange city — divided by public-private partnerships and developed in isolation. Its caretakers no longer incorporate context, history, or citizens’ rights. The city tends to silence you — either through the bullet or by denying your human right to dignified infrastructure. What is a city without a historical context? I write today in a defeated tone. Developers, politicians, investors, and capitalistic methods have triumphed, while activists, urban thinkers, and social welfare bodies have been told to go home.

Three important heritage properties listed under Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994, have been lost in the same way. Each property was purchased recently by investors or builders. All were vacant and declared ‘dangerous’ by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). This process is hardly straightforward — it is a power-driven strategy. These properties are acquired by influential people, who seek to obtain favourable reports supporting commercial ambitions.

The three heritage buildings we lost this month are: Cowasjee Kharas House, Panachand Building, and most tragically, the Kanji Building. Heritage Walk Karachi has, for five years, monitored this structure from afar, alerting the Sindh Heritage........

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