Residents protest PR's anti-encroachment drive

They say it will violate the orders of SC if their houses are razed without finding them an alternative place to live

KARACHI: The residents of Kashmir Mujahid Colony and Gharibabad, who were served notices by Pakistan Railways (PR) on Wednesday to evacuate encroached land, set up protest camps on Thursday, demanding that the government provide them alternative housing before bulldozing their houses.

They warned that they would block the railway tracks if their houses were demolished without other arrangements being made for them. The protesters said that the residential colonies were established around 60 years ago, adding that there were around 1,000 houses in both the colonies.

They insisted that it would violate the orders of the Supreme Court if their houses were razed without providing them with an alternative place to live.

They said that MNA Aftab Siddiqui and MPA Khurram Sher Zaman had assured them that the issue will be tackled peacefully.

PR officials had announced that they would begin their anti-encroachment drive on Thursday, but have now delayed it till Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2020.