Reclaiming state land: In Khwazakhela, thousands issued eviction notices

Officials say land is meant for graveyard; residents claim legal ownership of land.

SWAT:

Thousands of people have been issued eviction notices by the local administration in Dherai Baba area of Khwazakhela Tehsil. The land they live on was originally meant for a graveyard, according to the authorities.

To clear encroachments from the 333-kanal graveyard land, the local administration has asked the residents of 545 houses and 117 shops to move out in a week.

The residents, however, say they purchased the land legally, complete with registration documents and receipts for government charges. There is no reason for them to move out.

“The notices have sent a wave of panic among the locals,” said Sher Allam Kaka, president of the local traders’ federation.

“We respect the order of the court, but ask that the chief justice form a judicial commission [to get the facts]. The houses date back five decades and every plot has been sold and registered in the revenue department,” he said.

Akbar Khan, 55, seemed visibly perturbed by the news. “We will approach the court and are ready to be crushed under bulldozers when they [come to] demolish our houses,” he said.

His house, which he constructed after toiling day and night, is his only asset, he added.



Located along the main road leading to Shangla District, the area is lined with 117 shops owned and constructed by the locals.

Nazar Ali, a shopkeeper, said, “I purchased shops worth Rs1.1 million and fulfilled out all the legal requirements of the revenue department at the time of purchase. Why would the revenue department register the land if it was meant for a graveyard? Why is the government bent on snatching my livelihood?”

Sub-divisional Magistrate Ghulam Saeed said that they issued the notices on the orders of Peshawar High Court to remove encroachments on all graveyards.

He said the land was allocated for a graveyard in 1985. “We can do nothing in this regard. If someone has legal documents, they should go to civil courts.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013. 

Correction: The name 'Khwazakhela' was earlier misspelled as 'Khwazakhel' in the story. The error has been rectified.