لراوبر ویب پاڼه لراوبر يو افغان – تازه خبرونه
Last week, the Capital development Authority launched an operation to clear the I/11 sector land from the slums that have dwelled in the sector for 25 years, On July 30, the CDA enforcement wing and hundreds of police and Rangers personnel entered and demolished around 150 shacks and mud houses of the settlement in sector I/11, Islamabad. The police used brute forces against the residents, dragging the women and those enfeebled, to forcefully evict the settlers and clear the land for development. There have been unconfirmed reports of the deaths of an 8 year old and a 6 months old baby in the eviction drive.
but the CDA and the court seem helpless to take action against influential people that have encroached upon green belts and footpaths. Public institutions that have converted green belts into private parking lots include the Federal Board of Statistics, Federal Urdu University in Sector G-7, KRL Hospital on Tufail Niazi Road in sectors G-9 and G-10, the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Institute of Charted Accountant of Pakistan, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PDMC). Cemented houses and villas can also be seen on the costly land of sector F-6.
Interestingly, notion ignores the fact that the labor force needed to materialize the urban dream often comes from this underbelly, which provides shelter to lives lived in the shadow of ostentation. Militancy, terrorism, natural calamity, and operation against militants, are driving mass migration to the cities of Pakistan at an unprecedented rate.
Islamabad, the capital, has witnessed mass migration from other provinces, particularly from Pakhtunkhuwa province following Swat operation and operation Zarb-e-Azab that intend to root out militants. Those evicted so have turned to urban centers for job opportunities and better educational facilities for their children. The settlement in Sector I-11 in Islamabad is the largest such informal settlement, housing more than 20,000 people. These settlements are developed on encroached lands, many having been encroached upon for two to three decades while paying bribes to CDA authorities. Unfortunately, In Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and FATA the Pakistan army and Taliban demolished their houses and in the cities these helpless Pashtun were targeted by CDA. Earlier, the IDPs were blocked to enter the Punjab province. Many were killed in target killing in Karachi. Where is the state? State always acts as parents but in case of Pashtun, the State fails to perform its due duties. Even today’s state and its institution treats these Pashtun as slaves.
Strategically, , In 1985, the government allowed nearly 400 Afghan to settle in Islamabad. The then government of general Zia wanted to forcefully migrate people from Afghanistan to Pakistan and use them against the then Afghan government in the shape of mujahidin. With the passage of time, the slum grew, mostly through internally displaced persons from Pakhtunkhawa . The authorities insist that those evicted are illegal Afghan immigrants, though most of the slum population hold Pakistani National IDs and are, in fact, internally displaced Pashtun from tribal belts of FATA and Waziristan. Instead of admitting its failure in providing shelter to the poor, the government has declared slum dwellers as illegal encroachers and branded them criminals. The eviction is a reminder of the failure of the government of Pakistan to make room in the cities for millions of rural migrants escaping earthquakes, floods, wars, or just plain misery back home.
Technically, it is the responsibility of the State under Article 38(D) of the Constitution of Pakistan to provide housing to the poor. The Article mandates that for the “promotion of social and economic well-being of the people” the State shall: “provide basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief, for all such citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, as are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity, sickness or unemployment”.
Shamelessly, it is no secret that the Lal Masjid, which has become a hub for militants in Islamabad City, is also built on encroached land. However, no State action has ever been made to evict the encroachers as the powerful and well-placed head of the mosque can take law and order in his hands, as witnessed in the Lal Masjid operation in 2007, which caused the death of hundreds of innocent students of the religious seminary associated with the mosque. The land encroached upon by the Military to establish elite housing societies is also neglected by the Authority, as the most powerful institution of Pakistan is given free hand to take whatever it fancies.
In a nutshell, According to Bilal Mandokhail, one of my thought provoking friends, After Saudi Arabia, UAE, Dubai and Karachi, the state seems to have plans for using the Pashtun laborers living in slums to construct the mega project of metro and add to the gorgeousness of Islamabad city. However, the state needs not to use the Pashtun-Afghan merely as a gun powder in Afghanistan, FATA and Pakhunkhawa but being equal citizens; they have the same right to housing and dignity as the well to do class.
The author is a South Asia analyst and writes on stories related to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. He can be reached at avista.kan@gmail.com
