Land mafia : ‘Zardari and Gabol’s names used’

Land grabbers using Nabeel Gabol and Hakim Ali Zardari's names to escape arrest.

KARACHI: When you use the president’s name, few people are willing to mess with you. That was the case with two notorious land grabbers, Lahoti Gabol and Ali Hassan Brohi, who have been arrested by the Anti-Encroachment Cell police. The men were also using MNA Nabeel Ahmed Gabol and Hakim Ali Zardari’s names.

“In the past, police and authorities failed to launch any action against the land mafia as they dropped names of top politicians,” explained Revenue DO Shaukat Jokhio while talking to The Express Tribune. The cell recovered 10,000 acres from Ali Hasan Brohi and 800 acres from Lahoti Gabol.

The Anti-Encroachment Cell of the revenue department has been busy. It has so far conducted 20 successful raids for the recovery of illegally occupied land, apprehended 30 alleged members of the land mafia and registered 15 FIRs. These cases would be heard in the special tribunals formed by the government for illegal land occupation.

For its part, the revenue department has so far recovered 2,800 acres from ‘land grabbers’ but 20,000 acres are still illegally occupied, Jokhio told The Express Tribune. “Land occupation on fake registrations of goths prevented any action.”

The cell has finalised its plan to free some pockets in Karachi’s suburbs during the next couple of weeks. This includes 1,200 acres in Surjani, 10,000 acres in Keamari and 2,500 acres in Bin Qasim Town.

According to another official, the mafia has encroached on parks and amenity plots in urban areas while barren public land is also occupied by them in the outskirts. He said the government has ordered that all the illegally occupied land has to be recovered as soon as possible and that President Zardari has directed that 50 acres of the recovered land be reserved for martyrs of the army, police and civil servants.

Published in The Expresss Tribune, January 30^th, 2011.