Civil Society Seeks an End to Demolition Campaign in Karachi’s Mujahid Colony

KARACHI: On Thursday, members of the civil society opposed the demolition of houses in Mujahid Colony and urged the Sindh government to stop forcibly evicting residents from their residences.

As per the details, the representatives of civil society and those impacted said during a press conference that the government has already destroyed almost 600 houses and would do so within the next several days.

They also said that due to the sudden demolition drive, the government had evicted 2,000 residents from their houses without offering them an alternate place to live.

Asad Iqbal Butt, the co-chairman of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, claimed that Mujahid Colony’s inhabitants were legitimately residing and that they have all the legal documentation necessary to demonstrate that they were not invading the property.

Furthermore, multiple families in Mujahid Colony, according to activist Naghma Iqtidar, are sleeping outside after their residences were demolished by the government. Women and children who were dumped onto the streets, require immediate assistance, she added.

The protestors also emphasized how, in 1985, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) took over the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), and then, KDA began a politically motivated demolition campaign in 2022.

The Director of KDA stated earlier that the district administration and KDA officials were surveying the demolished houses and gathering information on the affected people who would be given alternate housing.