KARACHI:
News reports about the Punjab government demolishing irregularly constructed houses on land illegally occupied by a politician with links to opposition are encouraging. There should be a nationwide drive against all such encroachments, with no exceptions.
The culture of land grabbing is a legacy of the British Raj that would allot state lands in order to buy the loyalties of those willing to betray their motherland. Even our Quaid referred to this specifically as the curse of corruption and bribery which we inherited from British India. Unfortunately, the remnants of the British Raj, in nexus with the bureaucracy, took over after the independence and derailed Jinnah’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state. Pakistan has suffered greatly from this and will continue to do so unless truthful and trustworthy officials are empowered. The harsh reality is that the people remain hostage to the insatiable greed of few.
The endless greed for commercial profiteering has resulted in the evil nexus of a few who work in collusion with land mafias and occupied forest land and amenity parks with no fear of accountability. Blinded by greed, even agriculture land within sterile zones, near the border, is up for grabs.
Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2021.
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