Forced evictions: National day of action on August 12, says Minto

LAHORE:

Awami Workers Party President Abid Hasan Minto on Thursday announced a national day of action on August 12 to press the government to resettle evicted residents of I-11 kachi abadi in Islamabad and stop evictions from other informal settlements in the capital.

Addressing a press conference, Minto said country-wide demonstrations would be held to press the government to enforce the National Housing Policy of 2001, under which informal settlements with 40,000 residents must be regularised.

Minto said the government should resettle those evicted from their homes on July 30. He said AWP activists arrested during the eviction should be released immediately.

Minto said, “Residents of I-11 [kachi abadi] have been charged under terrorism laws pointing to a continuing trend of victimisation and demonisation of activists and workers.”

He said prior to the eviction, the government had launched virulent propaganda against residents calling them terrorists and claiming that the area was a den of criminal activities. “They said that these residents had stashed away illegal weapons and were Afghan citizens,” he said. “The government not only misled the public, they believed their own lies.”

He said most residents of the informal settlement were Pashtuns working at the vegetable market.

“They were small scale vendors employed in the informal sector,” said Farooq Tariq, the AWP general secretary. He said that no weapons or ammunition had been found after the residents were evicted.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2015.