The Awami Workers Party (AWP) Lahore held a protest demonstration at Charing Cross as part of its country-wide day of action to demand resettlement of families evicted from I-11 katchi abadi and release of people arrested by the Islamabad police on fabricated charges of terrorism.
Speaking at the occasion, AWP General Secretary Farooq Tariq said the government had violated its own policy by evicting families without providing them with any resettlement plan.
He said under the National Housing Policy of 2001, no abadi with more than 40 houses could be demolished in this manner.
Tariq condemned the use of force against unarmed civilians by the capital police during the demolition of the houses and said the CDA had lied and misinformed the public by referring to the basti as Afghan basti and as a den of criminals.
He said majority of the residents of the abadi were migrants from other cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkwa who had come to Islamabad to earn a living for their families.
He said the CDA had been unable to find a single weapon from the abadi.
The AWP has submitted a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan seeking resettlement of the evicted families and is committed to raising the issue on all available forums.
AWP Lahore general secretary Shazia Khan criticised the CDA for its double standards in dealing with influential people and the poor families employed in menial jobs. She said the CDA had leased out large swathes of public land to the Islamabad Club which catered singularly to the needs of the elite of the city on below market rate.
She said the party would continue its campaign till resettlement of evicted families and release of abadi residents and AWP members arrested on fabricated charges of terrorism.
She said the problem of katchi abadis should be solved by evolving a national plan for provision of low cost housing to poor families and urged rights activists and civil society organisations to support the campaign.