Resettling earthquake affected: Mansehra police arrest 40 illegal occupiers in Bakriyal

Action was taken preemptively on information that some illegal land occupiers had gathered weapons


Our Correspondent April 01, 2017
Action was taken preemptively on information that some illegal land occupiers had gathered weapons. PHOTO: PPI/FILE

MANSEHRA: Over 10 years after the 2005 earthquake, the Mansehra administration swung into action on Friday and launched an operation against illegal occupants of Bakriyal City.

At least 40 illegal residents were arrested during the night raids.

The city and the land it is built on was meant for earthquake-affected families of Balakot.

Friday’s raids were the result of an order passed by a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Standing Committee 36 on Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department which had met in Abbottabad on February 9, 2017.

The committee had asked the district administration to ensure that land occupied by illegal settlers should be recovered and handed over to ERRA within 15 days.

The panel had to discuss in detail the 11-year delay in resettling those affected by the earthquake in Balakot Tehsil. Participants of the committee had expressed their concerns over illegal occupation of some portion of 2,700 kanals of land acquired for the city.

Noting that land owners had been paid compensation for their land nine years ago, the committee came down hard on those of former land owners who had yet to relinquish possession of land thereby stalling the resettlement and rehabilitation process for hundreds of families.

Later, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khatak had asked the district administration to expedite the process of taking possession of land and launching reconstruction without further delay.

As many as 400 illegal occupants were issued eviction notices for vacating the land by April 3 otherwise, they would be forced out and legal action would be taken against them.

According to Mansehra Police Superintendent Arif Javed, all but 165 illegal occupants refused to vacate their lands.

Late on Thursday evening, police received information that those continuing to occupy land were planning to put up stiff resistance against the district authorities and had gathered weapons for the purpose.

Contingents of police raided their houses and arrested 40 people. Of these, four students arrested were released on Friday morning while the remaining 36 were sent to Banu jail under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law.

To a question, the Mansehra SP said that some of the occupants had requested three days to shift their belongings which the administration granted.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2017.

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