Skip to content

Wolves at the Door

Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan

Perpetual coercion has fragmented the basic fabrics of Pakistani society due to which wolves are still knocking at the doorsteps of common people. Land the “basic benchmark” of emotional ownership and very personalized entity of any man/woman has had been under constant threat from land mafia/grabbers in the country.

In the “uninterrupted race” of grabbing the pieces of lands, basic norms of ethics teachings, moralities superiorities, religious values, rituals practices, faiths purities, sects diversities or castes simplicities have been ruined throughout the country. So called champions of democracy have been patronized the land mafia to continue the vicious circle of corruption, dereliction, cronies and the last but not the least, personal deeds pertaining to land grabbing.

Supreme Court of Pakistan and National Accountability have now become the hope of the last resort. Despite their untiring efforts and persuasions to break the status quo established unfortunately, by axis of evils in the country, wolves have not yet been restrained from their illegal activities. Lands of common people, orphans, windows, overseas Pakistanis, disabled and of course weaker factions of the society are being pillaged without any clemency. Thanks, Allah the governments of PTI in the country have now succeeded to evacuate thousands of acres from the dominant land mafias throughout the country.

Cronies of the successive so called democratic governments facilitated the land mafias, who grabbed the “Land” “Green” from the lives of poor farmers, “White” from the comfort zones of residents, “Yellow” from the isolations of unlimited widows, “Red” from the overseas Pakistani investors and just left inopportunely “Black” dark and darkness in the lives of common people of this country.

Devils in shape of religious clergy, minority pressure groups, Christian Associations/NGOs/organizations, sectarian ethno-cracy, villains and jagged elements of society have one thing or aim common which is “grabbing of land”. They have undying understanding of their vested interests due to which spillover repercussions of differences of religion, faith, sect, caste or even color have been properly managed. Land mafia has become newton of corruption and malpractice where common people are still stuck in the gravitational force.

They have their sympathizers and supporters in legislative assemblies, administration wings and judiciary benches due to which they have been granted “walk-over” against the real victims, the common people. Land mafia always acts like notorious “Italian Scalise” which callously kills common people while seizing their precious belongings/lands.

Land grabbing by the land mafia is prolific in Pakistan especially in all the metropolitan cities of Pakistan. Housing societies of Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Sargodha and Sialkot etc. are looting the savings of common people by selling plots having fake, tempered and defective titles. Land mafia has become so powerful and influential that writ of the state has been compromised. Chief Justice of Supreme Court has now ordered the seizure of Pakistan Muslim League-N lawmakers’ “Khokhar Palace” in Lahore. It has produced a serious dint in the illegal dynasty of land mafia in the country and especially in Lahore. Even PPP’s hometown (Larkana) is in grip of land mafia. Prof (retd) Mrs Bhagwan Devi has appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of land mafia in Larkana.

City of Lahore has had been under the “siege of darkness” because of the axis of land mafia and patwaris, tehsildars and kanakos. Land mafia and their lawlessness have gripped Lahore. Land grabbers have been in search of lands of weaker factions of the society including orphans, widows, elderly women and minorities (not Christians). For this purpose, they have been making forged letters of power of attorney for gifts, hibas, waqfs and fards-e-badar etc. In this way local owners and cultivators since the “time immoral” have been dispossessed from their pieces of lands.

In the race of land grabbing even organizers of the homes of Allah Almighty (mosques) have been proved shamefully “second to none”. They gripped the pieces of lands and sadly are still in search of scapegoats to be crucified in the path of so called “divinity” and “faith” in the city of Lahore. Names and entities of “departed souls” have been misused to snatch more and more lands but hopefully SOONER OR LATER THEIR GREED WILL BE CONTENTED WITH THE MUD OF THEIR GRAVES. Preparation of defective titles of lands by virtue of tactful change in the names of parents, kith and kin and spouses have been a secret weapon in the hands of land mafia in Lahore. Even dates of their births and deaths have also been contrived to steal the show, shelter, snow and surroundings.

Incidents of land grabbing in the areas of Ghari Shahu, Muhamamd Nagar, Mughalpura, Mian Mir, and Noorpur and its vicinity have been rampant especially during the successive political governments. Successive mayors of Lahore have also been allegedly indulged in land grasping through the magic box of fake “settlements”. Uniform Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have had been seriously violated and bypassed to pass unlimited benefits to their beloveds. “Pentagon” of corrupt politicians (MNAs, MPAs, Chairmen, Deputy Chairmen, representatives of city government, standoffish religious personalities, real monoesters of minorities and of course patwaris) must not be spared off from their sins of unrestricted land grabbing in and around Lahore.

Punjab Government Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar icon of modesty has already established an “interactive complaint cell” and “on line portal” for redressal the grievances especially in terms of land grabbing in the province and of course Lahore. Saliha Saeed has already taken charge as Deputy Commissioner Lahore. She is an honest, upright and people’s friendly officeholder who is vigorously performing her duties. One of the main successes of her is that she has succeeded to build bridges of trust, service, delivery and execution in the hearts of common people. Even Jamshed Ali Patwari Ghari Shahu Lahore has outperformed others in the fields of service, submission and efficacy. He is very humble and cooperative.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again shown his strong political will against land mafia who has been declared “inseparable”. The premier lamented the growing trend where the influential axis of evil generally grabs the land escapes punishment under the law while the poor are made to suffer. He expressed the determination to provide justice to all citizens without any discrimination. “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government is committed to changing this tradition and pattern of governance,” Imran said.

Land grabbing is a menace which needs to be tackled with iron hands. Land grabbing has become a profitable activity which must be dismantled. Land gripping is an illegal act which is against even the basic injections of Islam, Constitution of Pakistan and basic human rights which ought to be expunged from our soil. Panacea of land grabbing is zero tolerance against corruption and pure but inclusive accountability in the country.

Leave a Reply