APC vows to resist move to allot 6,000 acres to DHA

karachi: Speakers at an ‘All Parties Conference’ on Tuesday denounced the Sindh government’s decision to allot 6,000 acres of land to Defence Housing Authority for a housing scheme for martyrs’ families and armed forces and vowed to resist the move with all might.

The conference was organised by the Sindh United Party at a local hotel. SUP chief Syed Zain Shah said the land should be utilised in the public interest. The Sindh government, whether elected or caretaker, is bound to protect local people and their properties, but unfortunately, this has not been the case. "Politicians who rule here are the product of the establishment," he opined, adding that the PPP has been ruling the province for the third consecutive term due to a deal struck with the powers that be in 2007, so whatever is happening today is the outcome of that deal.

“All lucrative land has been sold out. Sindh's 270-kilometer coastal belt and hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land on both sides of the Indus River have been surrendered under the deal. The provincial government, instead of protecting us, has been depriving us of our assets, which are a trust for our future generations,” Shah went on.

He claimed that the corruption watchdog had been made toothless so there was no accountability of rulers for their loot and plunder because they had agreed to surrender lands in return. "It was a commercial and residential scheme. The land was being acquired not for martyrs’ families but for pure business," he added. The SUP chief vowed to take to the streets once the allotment of land is notified.

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) General Secretary Dr Safdar Abbasi was of the view that the PPP has been ruling the province since 2008 as a result of a bargain with the establishment. "Sindh's power is like a golden bird and Zardari is willing to do whatever it takes to keep it, whether it required giving away the province’s land or other assets," he added. “The question arises how to counter that bargain? I believed we could do that with a parliamentary change and convinced nationalists to participate in the electoral process, but Zardari, with his bargaining power, buys everything. It's all deals, not public interest.”

Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi said today's Karachi is different from the city it used to be in 1947.

“Three powers have usurped lands in the city to gain control over it. One is the MQM when the chief minister's powers were given to revenue officers, who allotted lands of parks and storm water drains for marriage lawns and petrol pumps. Second is Zardari, who took reins of the PPP after Benazir Bhutto's martyrdom. He is not a politician but a power broker. Third are security institutions who acquired lands to establish cantonments on pretext of security threats. However, I believe the threat is not from outside but from our rulers.”

Jeay Sindh Mahaz President Riaz Chandio said giving the land to the DHA was against the existence of Sindhis, who are being turned into minority in their own province. “Indigenous rights are accepted the world over but our governments don’t accept them,” he lamented. Instead of regularising the goths in Keamari, the provincial government is allotting land to DHA, resulting in the old settlements being razed.

JUI's Qari Usman said if Sindh's real leadership decided to unite on a one-point agenda, it would succeed in its struggle. He suggested giving a warning that if the allotment of 6,000 acres was not cancelled, they would resort to agitation.

Sindh Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) emir Muhammad Hussain Mehanti said that PPP had been doing all that went against the interests of the people of the province. The party sold out the province's lands that were home to indigenous people, rendering them homeless.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh General Secretary Ali Palh said Sindh was a colony in practical terms. He urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to take suo motu notice of the matter as the allotment would displace indigenous people.

A resolution passed by the meeting demanded of the Sindh government to accept the first right of the indigenous people of Deh Allah Bano, Deh Chhatara, and Deh Meendiyari and give them ownership rights. It further called on the provincial government to provide basic necessities of life such as education, health, roads, electricity, gas and clean drinking water in these villages inhabited for centuries.

This House demands that instead of doing business of selling plots in DHA scheme in the name of martyrs, the tradition of giving residential plots and agricultural land in their ancestral areas to heirs of martyrs should be established, read the resolution.