PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Friday that he had taken notice of reports of villagers being evicted by employees of Bahria Town and law enforcers in Karachi and demanded a report on the matter.
Addressing a press conference here, Bilawal said he had been busy on Thursday in the election campaign for the NA-249 by-poll but there were a lot of reports on the issue on social media and “complaints coming of injustice”.
He said he had told Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah: “I’ve taken notice of the issue and a report should be given to me.
All work which is going on there should be immediately stopped until the report doesn’t arrive.”
Two days earlier, social media was abuzz with reports that employees of Bahria Town, aided by Sindh Police personnel, were forcefully evicting residents from their lands.
QaumiAwami Tahreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo announced a protest in response to what he said was the “demolition of villages in Karachi by Bahria [Town] and the [provincial] government and injuring hundreds of people, including women.”
Academic and activist Ammar Ali Jan had posted on Twitter that amid the coverage for the NA-249 by-elections, no attention was being paid to the “violent eviction of thousands of native villagers to appease Malik Riaz. This is ‘democracy’ of Bahria Town, by Bahria Town and for Bahria Town”.
“These are scenes from Karachi. This is happening during Ramazan. There should be nation-wide protests to force [the] Sindh government to halt this operation,” he had said.
The PPP chairperson said that if the order for the boundary wall was given according to the SC decision, and no one could express reservations about it.
He added, however, that “reservations can definitely be expressed” on why the locals of Malir had not to date received their rightful compensation according to the SC decision.
