Civil groups denounce eviction drives targeting poor settlements in Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan] December 4 (ANI): Dozens of representatives from katchi abadis (informal settlements), street vendors and other working-class groups across Islamabad gathered at the National Press Club this week to condemn the eviction operations of Pakistan's Capital Development Authority (CDA).

They urged Pakistan's judiciary to defend the constitutional right to shelter and livelihood, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, leaders of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), All-Pakistan Katchi Abadi Alliance, and Anjuman Rehribaan appealed to the Supreme Court and the newly established Federal Constitutional Court to uphold a 2015 stay order. That order, issued after the AWP filed a constitutional petition, had placed a moratorium on summary demolitions of informal settlements.

Addressing reporters, AWP leader Alia Amirali accused the CDA and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration of escalating so-called "anti-encroachment drives" that disproportionately target poor communities. She noted that while working-class homes, street vendors, and small informal traders face demolitions, powerful developers and real estate magnates continue to operate with impunity.

Amirali described this as a "blatant class war," arguing that it undermines both the CDA Ordinance and Islamabad's original planning principles. She also criticised the appointment of a Lahore-based officer to head the CDA's enforcement division, saying it further reflects the authority's disregard for rules and fairness. Leaders from multiple katchi abadis, including Patras Joseph, Mir Azam, Rukhsana Qazi, Muhammad Riaz, Ahmed Guddu, and Amanat Mashih, representing communities from Saidpur Village, France Colony, and Alipur Farash, declared that it is the city's working people who have built, cleaned, and sustained Islamabad since its inception. They asserted their "right to the city" as guaranteed by Pakistan's Constitution, as cited by The Express Tribune.

Recalling the AWP's 2015 petition, which followed the demolition of a Pashtun settlement in I-11 that displaced over 20,000 residents, the leaders stated that the Supreme Court's directive to present a viable housing plan for low-income citizens remains unimplemented. Instead, Islamabad and other major urban centres have increasingly fallen under the control of speculative developers and land mafias, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)

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