49 ‘illegal’ shops around seminary demolished

MULTAN: The city district administration Tuesday demolished 49 shops established illegally across seminary Qasimul Aloom near Gol Bagh area of Gulgasht Colony and retrieved the state land from the shopkeepers amid protest.

Heavy contingent of police and anti-encroachment squad, led by Multan Deputy Commissioner Mudassar Riaz Malik, reached Gol Bagh and started demolishing shops with heavy cranes.Talking to journalists, the DC said that the operation was conducted on the Punjab government orders. He said notices had been served to the shopkeepers on Monday to vacate the shops but they did pay any heed to it. He said the seminary administration had constructed shops on the state land. The seminary got leased out the state land from the government which cannot be used for commercial purposes. He said that recovery notices for Rs250 million had been sent to the shopkeepers in connection with the rent of previous years. Malik said that total five-kanal piece of state land had been retrieved and the market value of this land is Rs800 million. Talking to The News, Punjab JUI-F deputy secretary general Noor Khan Hans said all shops had been constructed in the seminary area and their maps were approved from the Multan Development Authority. He said the seminary administration presented all legal documents but the district administration had refused to accept them. He said the JUI-F and the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal leadership would reach Multan on Wednesday to discuss strategy against alleged political victimisation by the provincial government.