Karachi anti-encroachment drive: Sattar says MQM-P stands with victims of mafia, govt

–Sattar says masses being punished for the crimes of land mafia  

Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) chief Farooq Sattar, while commenting on the anti-encroachment campaign across Karachi, said that the MQM-P respects the Supreme Court verdict, but will not let Karachi residents get displaced.

Speaking to reporters outside the Karachi Press Club, the MQM-P chief said that his party is against the land mafia, but it will not tolerate any injustice to the people.

Protesting the anti-encroachment operation, Sattar said that the protest was against the insensitivity of the Sindh government, adding that the government was lavishing things on specific people and with aid of officials is seizing land.

Assuring the affectees of the MQM-P’s support, Dr Sattar said, “The process of the displacement of the residents should stop. “People bought land in exchange for money and if masses were punished for the crimes of land mafia then MQM will not leave them alone.”

He said china-cutting was only 10 per cent against all the illegally occupied land in the metropolis. “Rest of the land grabbing has been done in the name of Russian-cutting and American-cutting,” he remarked.

“MQM-P has always peacefully protested over issues and [this time] the party [too] is legally and politically standing beside the people of Karachi,” he added.

The MQM leaders on the occasion demanded the provincial government to provide the victims alternative places for their lost land as all their savings were looted by land grabbers.

They also demanded to crackdown against those who were involved in land grabbing whether in the name of Russian-cutting, American-cutting or any other cutting.

On Nov 29, in a report presented by Karachi Development Authority (KDA) before Supreme Court’s Karachi registry, it was disclosed that thousands of square yards of 35,000 amenity plots in the metropolis have been taken over through ‘china cutting’ (illegal carving).

The court ordered KDA, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and Deputy Commissioners to immediately evacuate the occupation of the plots coming under their mandated domains, and directed the development authority to cancel allotments of welfare plots with immediate effect.