‘2,975 housing units in Karachi’s four main federal quarters’ schemes illegally occupied’

As many as 2,975 housing units in four main federal government’s residential quarters in Karachi have been under illegal occupation, and the authorities in Islamabad and the Sindh government have decided to join hands and adopt a consensus strategy to get these units vacated with no or least use of coercive means against the illegal occupants.

This information was shared as Federal Housing Secretary Imran Zeb Khan met Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah at the latter’s office on Friday.

The meeting was held to evolve a consensus strategy to be implemented both by the centre and Sindh government to get vacated estate of federal government in Karachi under illegal occupation.

The meeting was informed that illegal occupants had been living in the federal government’s Pakistan Quarters, Jahangir Road, Patel Para, Liaquatabad and Martin Road quarters.

The participants learnt that up to 50 per cent of the housing units in the federal government’s residential schemes for officers in Karachi had been under illegal occupation. The meeting was told that 254 housing units in Pakistan Quarters were under illegal occupation, 1,987 housing units in Federal Capital Area were illegally occupied, 434 units in Jahangir East, and there were 300 such quarters under unauthorised occupation in Jahangir West area.

The chief secretary directed Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shalwani to establish contact with the Estate Office of the federal government in order to compile a comprehensive report to indentify land and housing units of the federal government in Karachi under illegal occupation.

Furthermore, he said, a comprehensive policy should be adopted to get such land and housing units vacated in the city. The chief secretary said that fundamental rights of people living in the federal quarters under illegal occupation should be taken care of whenever the operation was carried out to get them vacated.

The meeting was attended by a senior member of the Board of Revenue of the Sindh government, the commissioner, the home secretary and officials of Federal Estate office. An operation launched in October last year to end illegal occupations in Pakistan Quarters did not succeed as the residents living there clashed with police, and widespread violence and injuries both among civilians and policemen were reported.