‘Illegal occupation’: Rangers deprive women, farmers of buildings

Students of a vocational training centre were shifted to a small rented building to accommodate paramilitary force.

ISLAMABAD:

Illegal occupation of public land and buildings is not just limited to unscrupulous elements. Some security agencies functioning within the state apparatus are also involved in this illegal practice.

Personnel of a paramilitary force have been occupying two buildings — a vocational training centre and a training complex for farmers, both properties of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration — since 2008.



Sources said that buildings of the Women Development Complex (WDC) and the Agriculture Complex in Union Council Tarlai on the outskirts of Islamabad are in the use of the Punjab Rangers since 2008, after they were called in by the administration seeking their ‘services’ to maintain the law and order situation in the federal capital.

WDC- a women vocational training centre

The WDC, established in 1990 by the capital administration to provide technical education training to women from rural areas, is in the use of rangers as the administration has since failed to provide them an alternative space and instead shifted the students to a rented building.

“This is the dilemma of our country that the law enforcement agencies are occupying public properties instead of protecting them,” said a student adding that “We have been deprived of our training centre and shifted to a rented building.

Majority of the students, when The Express Tribune spoke to, said that they were facing problems at the rented building. “We have insufficient space here and face hardships in taking classes especially the computer class,”’ said a teacher who wished not to be named. She said that before the rangers occupied the building, the students were provided training in computer, glass painting, cooking, beautician and embroidery. But due to insufficient space in the current rented building, some programmes had to be shelved.

According to sources, around 2,000 rangers’ personnel are residing in three different locations of the city. A senior official lamented that the ICT administration did not made any serious effort to provide an alternative accommodation to the rangers.

Agriculture Complex

The Agriculture Complex, established in 1984 by the administration to give training to famers, is also in the use of the rangers since 2008. However, currently no training is given to the farmers at the complex.



Spread over two acres, no training could be given to farmers at the complex due to the presence of rangers, an official at the agriculture department said.

Interestingly, the rangers have constructed huge walls around both the buildings and they have even removed the plaques.

The administration spokesperson Rana Akbar Hayat admitted that both the buildings were in the occupation of the rangers.

On the one hand, he said that it was the responsibility of the administration to accommodate rangers as their presence was crucial for maintaining the law and order situation. At the same time he said that the Rangers should not occupy government buildings.

When asked why the ICT administration has failed to provide an alternative space to the Rangers despite a lapse of eight years, Hayat said the administration thought that the law and order situation would improve and they would go back to Punjab. However, according to him, the current law and order situation has necessitated keeping them.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2014.