Anti-encroachment drive: Court halts action at Aligarh

KARACHI: A division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), comprising Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, ordered the parties in a suit over a property dispute to maintain the status quo and also ordered that the anti-encroachment drive be stalled till February 17.

The order was passed late on Wednesday evening as SHC Deputy Nazir Imdad Ali Abro reported that a heavy contingent of police headed by DIG East, the TPO and SHO of the police station went to the disputed land, 213 acres allotted to the Aligarh Cooperative Housing Society on Wednesday, the second day of the anti-encroachment operation and unidentified men opened fired at them. A head constable was killed while some villagers or alleged encroachers were injured in the crossfire. They were moved to a hospital.

The incident was narrated to the bench in the presence of the counsel for the petitioner, the housing society, and the respondent residents or alleged encroachers. The anti-encroachment drive was started on the orders of an SHC division bench comprising Justice Athar Saeed and Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar. According to the order, the operation was scheduled for February 8 to February 10.

So far, 14 such operations have been conducted and land has been cleared of illegal constructions and houses — however, soon after the drive is over, this area is encroached upon again.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2011.