FAISALABAD:
Protestors claimed a woman and her three daughters were caught under the debris of their house on Saturday evening when it was demolished in an ‘anti-encroachment campaign’ by Central Jail authorities.
The the district administration had earlier declared Panjtan Town, located next to the Central Jail, a ‘security risk.’ On Saturday, jail officials on the directions of Superintendent Tariq Babar Ghauri, demolished 11 houses in the settlement.
Two acres of land were said to have been recovered in the operation.
Muhammad Akram, one of the town residents, said they had not been told to vacate the houses.
“The bulldozers arrived suddenly and razed the house of a street vendor. His wife Sofiya Bibi, daughters Naila, Shumaila and Kausar Bibi were buried under the debris.”
He said the neighbours rushed to help and pulled the women out and took them to Allied Hospital.
“We then blocked Jaranwala Road and demanded action against jail authorities,” he said.Operations SSP Sadiq Ali Dogar and Iqbal Town SP Shakirullah arrived and promised action against jail authorities in accordance with law.
Jail Deputy Superintendent Zubair Cheema said the land belonged to the Central Jail and had been occupied by landgrabbers, who had built masonry structures.
He said the residents had been given a notice to vacate the land a week ago but had ignored it.
He said that the houses had to be demolished.
“They were a security threat. In any case, we had to free the land to expand the jail,” he said. He denied that the jail administration was responsible for injuries to anybody. “They must have injured themselves to make an issue of the demolition,” he said.
Muhammad Asif, one of the residents, said they had built the houses in the impression that the land had been leased from the government. “It was never in our notice that the land belonged to the Central Jail…we had been cultivating the land for four years,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Akram of the Surgical Ward at Allied Hospital said the four women were all out of danger.
Saddar SHO Ghulam Farid said they had not received a complaint from any of the victims.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2012.
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Any free land, Pakistani think they can build and live in that house, without any permission, its mostly they try to build on govt property! then they play innocent!