Land mafia will not be tolerated, says PM Imran

Coordination committee set up to take action against drug dealers

ISLAMABAD: Land mafia in the federal capital was issued a final warning on Monday to clear out with a line drawn by the highest seat of executive power.

"I will not tolerate land mafia in the federal capital at all," declared Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday as he chaired a high-level meeting regarding issues in the federal capital.

Imran, who had successfully contested from NA-53 in Islamabad in the July 25 elections on the back of promises of improving the situation in the federal capital, declared on Monday that land grabbers and those involved in illegally occupying lands of poor people in Islamabad and its suburbs would be dealt with sternly.



A resident of the federal capital himself, Imran said that an operation should be carried out against land grabbers and those illegally occupying lands of the poor with the public and the media watching.

The premier lamented the growing trend where the influential generally escape punishment under the law while the poor are made to suffer.

He expressed the determination to provide justice to all citizens without any discrimination. “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government was committed to changing this tradition and pattern of governance,” Imran said.

Interior Secretary Major (retired) Azeem Sulaiman briefed the prime minister about the overall situation in the federal capital including law and order matters, ongoing operations against the land mafia and other issues.

Imran, who holds the portfolio for the Federal Interior Minister, directed the junior interior minister Shehryar Khan Afridi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ali Nawaz Awan (who was elected from Imran’s vacated seat of NA-53) and MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz — who had been elected from NA-52 in Islamabad — to prepare a special package for the federal capital.

Moreover, the meeting decided to form a coordination committee. The committee will be headed by the Interior secretary while Awan and Nawaz will be assisting and guiding it.

The committee will strengthen the ongoing campaign against land grabbers and drug dealers in the federal capital by making it more effective, particularly against the drugs being peddled in educational institutions.

The premier also sought recommendations from the capital’s newly installed top cop, Inspector General Aamir Zulfiqar Khan for improving the performance of the Islamabad Police and to make it more effective.

Imran assured of providing all possible support to the police, Islamabad administration and other departments to turn the capital into a model city and ensuring the rule of law without any distinction or discrimination.

The federal capital has been plagued by a number of issues from law enforcement to regulation of construction and illegal logging.



Most of these issues are already being considered either by parliamentary panels or are being taken up by the Supreme Court. This is particularly true of the illegal logging in the Margalla Hills, irregular construction in the upscale Bani Gala — the neighbourhood where Imran owns a sprawling mansion.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had taken notice of encroachment in the federal capital, particularly along the Korang River and had directed to demolish all encroachment built in a 200 feet radius from the centre of the river.

The top court is also reviewing issue pertaining to the cancelled lease for a multistorey structure being built on One Constitution Avenue adjacent to the Jinnah Convention Centre where Imran also owns a flat.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2018.