Residents of the underdeveloped areas (katchi abadis) of COD Fort Rawalpindi have appealed to the government and the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to provide them with an alternative place to live before evicting them.
While talking to agencies, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Ashiq and others said that they had been living in the slums for the last 70 years and now they were being expelled from the area by the government.
They further said that about 16 extremely poor families were living in the area, who could not afford to move to any other place on their own. “If we are thrown out of our houses without providing security and alternative residences, we would be left with no option than to commit a collective suicide,” the residents said.
The residents appealed to Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf, CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to provide them security and alternative residences before the eviction process got underway.
