CDA fails to remove illegal Afghan settlement from Sector I-11
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad police have failed to remove the illegal Afghan katchi abadi (slums) from Sector I-11 despite repeated attempts.
The Afghan residents of the mud houses in almost one quarter of the sector are adamant at not vacating the area so that the illegal structures could be erased.
The residents of the surrounding sectors including sectors I-9, I-10 and I-1 1 also expressed concerns over the situation and said that the slums are safe havens for anti social and criminal elements. They said the katchi abadi is a security threat for the federal capital residents and demanded of the civic authority to launch an operation with the help of police to avoid any possible untoward incident.
According to CDA sources, a grand operation was planned to be conducted in the Afghan slums on January 05, 2013 which was to continue for 10 days but it was postponed due to interference of some influential and political people. The sources revealed that now 3,199 members of 324 families belonging to tribal agencies are also residing in the Afghan slums, while some people hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab are also living in the settlements.
When contacted, Member Administration CDA Amir Ahmed Ali said that no plan of conducting operation is under consideration right now. He said that as people from tribal agencies, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab are also living in the settlements along with Afghan people, therefore the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) will devise a strategy with the help of the CDA.
