Crackdown on Hotels and Guest Houses in Karachi; 9 Foreign Nationals Arrested
Karachi: The Sindh Police has launched a crackdown against hotels and guest houses operating without certification from the Tourism Department and registration in the Hotel I system, arresting 9 foreign nationals who were illegally residing in these establishments.
Following an attack on foreign nationals near the airport, a high-level meeting was convened under the leadership of Sindh’s Home Minister, Ziaul Hassan Lanjhar, and Sindh IGP, Ghulam Nabi Memon. During the meeting, the CIA Karachi was tasked with carrying out the operation against unregistered hotels and guest houses.
According to DIG CIA, Muqaddas Haider, after receiving the directive, CIA officials conducted searches of approximately 150 hotels and guest houses across the city. During the operation, they apprehended 9 foreign nationals who were staying illegally. Additionally, the Tourism Department and the Sindh Police’s Hotel I software identified over 100 hotels and guest houses that were not registered in the system. Letters have been sent to the relevant authorities, highlighting that such unregistered establishments pose a security risk.
SSP Specialized Investigation Unit, Shoaib Meman, told Express News that while local police stations have been conducting regular operations against hotels and guest houses, the recent surge in terrorist activities prompted an intensified crackdown under the leadership of the Home Minister and IGP. Six teams have been formed to continue the search operations.
During the searches, it was revealed that many of these hotels and guest houses were operating without the necessary certification from the Tourism Department. Moreover, their registration was absent from the Hotel I database. The CIA has shut down several of these illegal operations and recommended filing formal charges against them.
