No gumps in Sindh’s forests, just Sharjeel Memon

Prominent members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are allegedly directly involved in as well as provide patronage to the mafia involved in encroaching some 40,000 acres of forest land in Sindh. It is because of these vested interests that the Sindh government is reluctant to constitute public vigilance committees in each district of the province, despite the Sindh High Court (SHC) issuing orders to do so about two months ago, Pakistan Today has learnt.
“There is much fraud in both the Forest Department – currently being managed by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, as well as affairs pertaining to the sale of forest land,” sources told Pakistan Today, explaining that the status of land that has been encroached has been changed in official records in an attempt to legalise occupation. Among those active in this process is Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, sources alleged, claiming that the minister has ignored and bypassed the legal process whenever he was hauled up in cases of encroachment on forest land.
One such constitutional petition was filed in the SHC by environmentalist Zain Daudpota, also the chief of Indus Development Organization. While contending that political influentials had occupied hundreds of acres of forest land, Daudpota cited Information Minister Memon, Makhdoom Shafiq Zaman (son of senior PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Faheem), Hyderabad District Police Officer (DPO) Pir Fareed Saranhdi and the Sindh government as respondents. Despite many notices, Memon, Zaman and DPO Saranhdi did not appear before the court.
The SHC’s division bench hearing the case ordered the Sindh government on March 10 to immediate form public vigilance committees across the province to curb the practice of encroachment on forest land. As per the court’s directions, the committees should were to be headed by district judges concerned, with a mandate to keep a vigil on illegal encroachment by influential persons.
The SHC further declared the chief minister’s summary to allot forest land to female peasants as illegal, and ordered the government to conduct a fresh survey of forest land through geographical information system (GIS). The provincial government and the Forest Department were also directed to place maps of all forest land on their official websites so as to publicise their exact state. The same verdict also declared that the status of forest land could not be changed.
“Before becoming minister, Sharjeel Memon occupied hundreds of acres of forest land as well as land belonging to locals in various districts of Sindh. At the time, he was introducing himself as chairman of the Anti-Encroachment Committee of Forest Land,” sourced alleged. “When the High Court asked if this post really did exist, the Sindh advocate-general denied any knowledge of this.”
In another petition filed against Memon some two months ago, a man named Hakim Zadi from Hatri, District Hyderabad lodged a civil suit seeking vacation of his leased forest land from the possession of the information minister and Hyderabad DPO Pir Fareed Sarhandi.
Neither Memon nor Sarhandi appeared before the court despite the issuance of many notices, and subsequently, the civil court directed the area police to register a case against the two men. The police, however, did not register any case against the minister or his friend, and matter is still pending before the court. The judge concerned, however, was transferred.