Islamabad land mafia

As an anti-encroachment drive is underway in Karachi in some of the most highly coveted areas of the city, Islamabad is experiencing a transformation of its own. Inspector General Police (IG) Islamabad Mohammad Amir Zulfiqar Khan recently called a high-level meeting with other officials to issue directives for a crackdown against land grabbers, beginning with Islamabad’s rural areas. As with any initiative to hold violators of the law accountable, we welcome the sudden burst of motivation of law enforcers to act dutifully. However, we remain skeptical. Realistically, news of taking down land grabbers and mafias has surfaced just about every month since the new government was inaugurated and in previous years, too. And each time, there is little or no follow-up as to what was achieved. Subjectively, an image or two might appear with a descriptive caption but no reports or objective figures are provided. It is curious that the matter is never finished.

In a change of pace, however, where it was previously risky to mention the land mafia, it is not the case anymore. This is a positive development. The matter has to be pursued consistently now, so that the capital can move on to solve other problems. Enforcing the law is relevant to mention here in the hopes that culprits will turn themselves in for potentially less loss but primarily to deter any future land grabbers.

To achieve the reclaiming of land in a humanistic manner, however, requires patience. Not all those responsible for encroachment are wealthy land grabbers and some among them are fruit sellers or shopkeepers. A proper approach would be to strictly warn inhabitants and provide sufficient time for them to relocate. In fact, some facilitation by the nearest provincial government would be considerate. Leniency for the small business owners would be beneficial and more efficient than bulldozing their set-ups. However, action should be taken against the major sharks who ignored the law out of greed for profit.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2018.

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