Arshad Ali Gabol
Bahria Town residential scheme started from the year 2012. It is said that it has approximately 16 thousands acres lease land but it is dispersed about 50 thousands acres illegally. It is said that Bahria Town residential scheme was started to develop Karachi city but it started depriving Karachi’s oldest villagers from their precious lands and historical places and oldest graveyards. As the scheme started its management started intriguing to disturb people whose villages were surrounding scheme and began occuping on them with many excuses and penitences because people of those area are simpliton and poor who can not resist against injustice of Bahria Town Residential Scheme’s management. First time local person Faiz Muhammad Gabol stood against Bahria Town and refused to give over his land which became example for others and after that people started expostulaing against Bahria and had great resistance against controversial scheme. Against the injustice of Bahria Town Indigenous Rights Alliance took birth and became obstacle and barrier on the illegal way of Bahria Town and it started strengthening local communities against Bahria Town and became effective voice of indigenous or villagers. Supreme Court took action against illegal occupation of Bahria and some time case went on but at the end Supreme Court compromised the matter on very low amount. After the Supreme Court judgment Malik Riaz a CEO of Bahria Town became stronger and felt that he has got a license to confiscate the lands of oldest villages of Karachi and their graveyards. Malik Riaz himself is not stronger but he has a good support of Federal and Sindh government that’s why he commenced seizing on lands of local people without any fright of law. He has realized people many time by his attitude to people that he has purchased every department and influential person of country with his money. Even area’s MPAs and MNAs have become the part of his illegal acts and favored him on every act cause of what Malik Riaz has become full-fledged. Political, Social and Nepotist parties and local organizations have came on one pitch or platform against controversial Bahria Town Scheme and started protest demonstrations against it in order to support disturbed villagiants. They have also proclaimed to start effective protest movement against. In this regards Indigenous Rights Alliance and political, social and nepotist organizations formed Sindh Action Committee which announced peace ful sit-in against Bahria Town on 6 June. Sea of people joined peaceful sitting in across Sindh and raised slogans against illegal occupation of Bahria Town (a controversial residential scheme). To see sea of people in placid sit-in Bahria Town Management, Sindh and Federal government be came astonished and lost their sense. After that Bahria Town Management started endeavoring to fail peace looking sitting in and resources said it pointed some wimple and mask wearing people to burn main gate of Bahria Town and some buildings also wear and tear so that blame be put on peace looking people of protesting sit-in and did every thing what so ever came in mind after that lead people of expostulating sit-in were nominated in different FIRs with terrorism act at different police stations and police started arresting people including women, leaders. On a very next day of sit-in provincial government ministers and local representatives of PPP had quick and surprise visit of Bahria Town to see the situation and share the pain with Bahria Town’s CEO instead of visiting those people whose precious lands and villages are occupied illegally. MQM league which was also looking for opportunity to be alive, visited Bahria Town and had press conference with discriminative attitude and tried their failure struggle to declare terrorist to peace looking people of sit-in. At present Provincial Government is looking for settlement and trying to suppress people with threats of different cases, on the other hand people of Sindh have proved that they cannot endure any one to occupy on their precious lands, oldest villages and historic places. In all this Awami Press Club journalists are also able for appreciation who performed their professional duties day and night to provide right information and report of movement against Bahria Town to the people. By the way what ever be the result of movement will really affect on the future of Malir strongly.
