Ex-President Dr Arif Alvi’s clinic sealed in Karachi

A dental clinic operated by former President of Pakistan and PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi was sealed by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society for running a“commercial operation in a residential building”.

A notice posted on the entrance of the clinic states that “the premise of the subject plot is hereby sealed on account of unauthorized construction.”

Dawn reports that the SBCA spokesman confirmed the notice calling it a “routine job” from the officials.

A team led by one of the Sindh Building Control Authority’s assistant directors visited the clinic on Thursday evening, stopped the staff from performing their regular activities, sealed the clinic, and put a notice outside the premises.

PTI Karachi spokesperson Fauzia Siddiqi termed the SBCA action a “vendetta” against the party from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and its ally in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party.

PTI’s official account reacted to the news by blaming it on the PPP government: “These fascist moves really show the ugly side of People’s Party’s politics, completely exposing their fake claims of standing for democracy and human rights.

The former President’s son Awab Alvi took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their side of the story in which he claimed that first, a motorcyclist without a number plate surveyed the area and then a group of people arrived, claiming to be from Sindh Healthcare commission asking to be allowed inspection of the clinic but they left. Eventually, by night a team of “heavy handed thugs arrived” claiming to be from SBCA and sealed the clinic after a heated argument.

As per Awab, the clinic has been operational since 1992, and if there had been a violation, they could have easily responded to a notice. He termed the decision to be a result of Dr Arif Alvi’s recent aggression in a press conference in Lahore against the “Supreme Court’s shameful judgment on 63-A” and meeting “incarcerated PTI leaders”.