Court gives December 14 deadline to clear Ghazi Goth

Police say operation in July was aborted due to 'violent resistance from land grabbers'

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court directed the Deputy Commissioner East to conduct effective operations to end the illegal occupation in the name of Abdullah Shah Ghazi Goth on the land of the Pakistan Cooperative Housing Society (PCHS) in the KDA Scheme 33 by December 14.

The older an illegal possession gets, the harder it is to remove it, noted the two-member bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi and ordered police and Rangers to provide full support to the East district deputy commissioner to wrestle free the PCHS property from the land grabbers.

During the hearing of the petition against the occupation of PCHS the East district SSP, deputy commissioner, and other officials appeared in the court.

Abdullah Shah Ghazi Goth was made on PCHS lands, said the counsel for the petitioners.

He claimed that the administration carries out only half-hearted operations which are aborted under planning.

The land was allotted to PCHS 50 years ago and it was still under illegal occupation.

Look at the ages of the victims who invested their lives savings in this project only to find it occupied by encroachers, Justice Rizvi bombed.

He asked the SSP, deputy commissioner, and other officials if there have been any meetings under the supervision of the DC, and if there was any plan to end the illegal occupation of the PCHS land.

Police officials said that they had conducted an operation but it was aborted due to resistance.

At least five persons, including two policemen, suffered bullet injuries during an anti-encroachment operation in the Abdullah Shah Ghazi Goth near Safoora Goth in July this year.

Police claimed that land grabbers opened fire on them while residents alleged that three people - two women and a 15-year-old boy - suffered injuries in firing and tear gas shelling by police.

Authorities had to stop the anti-encroachment drive being carried out under the orders of the deputy commissioner (DC) East after the incidents, which drew a strong backlash from Sindhi nationalisst parties and human rights groups.

Justice Rizvi directed the DC to deploy Special Services Unit (SSU) police commandos to evict landgrabbers, instead of the regular cops from the police station.

Justice Rizvi said in his remarks, "tell me, how many Rangers personnel are required? If the squatters use women and children as human shields to protect themselves use policewomen and women personnel from the Rangers and get the encroached land cleared."