KARACHI – Sixty-six families, residents of Horizon Plaza in Civil Lines, are in danger of losing their homes because of harassment and threats from armed goons who claim to be affiliated with the Sindh National Party (SNP), a fringe group headed by Ameer Bhambro.
A few years ago, members of the party began to set up party offices in the apartment complex which was constructed in the year 2000. The offices, residents claim, were set up by illegally occupying empty apartments. Soon after, party flags began appearing in the premises, and lately, armed men from the party have been threatening residents to vacate their homes.
When residents of the building tried to protest outside the premises, truckloads of armed men, claiming to belong to the SNP, ordered them to disperse at gunpoint. The beleaguered residents claim, meanwhile, that despite all possible efforts, they have also been unable to obtain a no-objection certificate from law-enforcement officials for protesting in front of the Karachi Press Club.
Water supply to the building has also been cut off, and residents claim that SNP members flooded the basement parking area. Water then entered the elevator shafts, causing a short circuit, forcing senior citizens to take the staircase instead.
Waste is also being dumped within the premises, ostensibly in an attempt to force residents out, while the entrance is ‘guarded’ by armed men claiming to belong to the SNP.
Shopkeepers and people who had leased apartments have, in the meantime, opted to leave rather than withstand the constant harassment; but residents who own their apartments have been left with no choice at all. The vacated shops and apartments were hastily taken over by the armed goons.
While SNP chief Ameer Bhambro was not available for comments, sources close to the party distanced the SNP from the goings-on at Horizon Plaza. They, however, also refused to comment on why armed groups were using the party’s name to harass citizens and force them out of their houses.
