‘Illegal’ demolition: DCO told to explain ‘church property’ demolition

To file reply today, affected community continues to protest.

LAHORE: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to district coordination officer (DCO) to file by for Tuesday (today) his reply on the demolition and possession of Gosha-i-Aman by the Lahore Development Authority on January 10.

The action was taken on a petition by the Lahore Charitable Association, an affiliate of the Catholic Church, and the administration of a number of churches against DCO Ahad Khan Cheema for demolishing the building allegedly despite a stay order against the action.

Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the National Commission on Justice and Peace, said that the demolished building was a property of the Catholic Church and they had a restraining order from the court against demolition.

Tariq Zaman, a city government officer, told The Express Tribune that the land was government property, however, in possession of a land-grab mafia. He said the group was led by a woman, who had deployed armed men around the property to resist demolition by the LDA officials. He said despite several attempts, the church had not been able to oust her. However, he said, now she had mysteriously disappeared.

Former residents of the demolished compound, however, said the woman had left the compound several days before it was bulldosed. One of them said, “Her possessions were not damaged. The DCO had allowed her to take them along.”

Protest against LDA

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters from the Christian community protested against the demolition on Monday.

They said that the LDA officials had not informed them before demolishing the building.

“I have nowhere to go to. My home of 25 years was razed in front of my eyes and I could not do anything about it,” Zanobia Richards, 61, said.

Mariam Augustine, a teacher who had been living at Gosha-i-Aman for 14 years with her husband and two daughters, said, “Everything we owned is under the rubble. We have lost everything.”

Bishop of Lahore Rt Rev Dr Alexander John Malik said that despite announcement by Finance Minister Kamran Michael that the government will the land to a church in Garhi Shahu, church administration had not been contacted.

Father Morris Jalal of the Saint Francis Church in Kot Lakhpat told The Tribune, “Our protest is not just a matter of land. It is about a violation of minority rights in the country.”   Some of the protesters accused the government of colluding with the land grabbers. The protesters included representatives from 20 churches administration in the city.

Sisters from several convents also joined the three-hour demonstration.

The protesters reiterated that the minority communities continued to feel vulnerable in Pakistan. Activist Shahtaj Qizalbash of the Women Action Forum and Neelum Hussain of Simorgh also addressed the protest.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2012.