Gujjar Nullah encroachers: Compensate those affected, demands PTI

KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded compensation for people forced to vacate their homes constructed adjacent to the Gujjar Nullah.

During a visit to the nullah on Sunday, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh said they are not against the cleaning of drains but it is the government's responsibility to ensure shelter for the homeless.

He asked why nullahs were being cleaned at the eleventh hour, saying that while the residents were residing there illegally, they must have paid money to the government initially.  There are over 30,000 houses constructed alongside the Gujjar Nullah and Sheikh said it would be heartless to throw these people out of their homes and not provide them any form of residence.

He demanded the arrest of government officials who helped residents settle alongside the nullahs.

For the past few years, the government has initiated such operations during the monsoon season but every year it is not completed, he said.

The operation against encroachments in the surroundings of the Gujjar Nullah was launched on Saturday on the orders of the chief minister. Around 10,000 houses will be demolished in the early stages of the operation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2016.