Anti-encroachment drive: Two houses, part of shrine demolished

Move in line with PHC’s order to remove encroachments on all graveyards across K-P.

ABBOTABAD: The district administration and the police demolished two houses and part of a shrine in a joint operation against encroachments on graveyard land in Sara Mera village of Salhad Union Council on Tuesday.

A heavy contingent of police surrounded the area and the Tehsil Municipal Authority’s bulldozer ploughed the houses of Ali Akbar Khan Jadoon and Saifullah Khan, following the orders of the Peshawar High Court to remove encroachments on graveyards across the province.

According to Assistant Coordination Officer Usama Ahmed Wariach, who headed the operation, both the encroachers had been occupying about two kanals of graveyard land for the last many years and built houses on the area. He said the graveyards was spread over 12 kanals but most of it had been illegally occupied. He assured that land earmarked for the graveyards will be cleared of encroachers.

Meanwhile, the wall of a century-old shrine of Bibi Sahiba was also bulldozed. Local circles condemned the demolition of the shrine wall.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2012.