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HOW A PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FIRM STOLE LAND FROM POOR FARMERS AND DESTROYED AN ECOSYSTEM

GREED UNLIMITED

Naziha Syed Ali

Assistant Editor,

Dawn Newspaper, Karachi

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Bahria Town Karachi covers est 120sq km

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Replica Eiffel Tower in the outskirts of Karachi!

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Farmers do rain-fed agriculture in the area, and invest a fortune on wells to extract the groundwater

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Farmers told to surrender their land at the end of 2013

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“If I tell you the amount of the biggest bribe I have ever paid, you will have a heart attack” – Malik Riaz, owner, Bahria Town Ltd

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How is land being stolen?

Raids by police to terrorize locals

    • Homes bulldozed
    • Orchards and wells destroyed
    • Fake terrorism cases

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Government violates land use laws

  • Cancels leases without reason
  • Rules/subordinate changed in violation of parent statute

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Story of injustice on a massive scale, but there is SILENCE in the media. Why?

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Sources & Methodology

  • Villagers
    • Eye witness accounts
    • Documentary proof of claim to land
    • Copies of letters to law enforcement for help
    • Lease agreements
    • Cemeteries

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More Sources

  • Experts in land-related legislation to explain deliberate distortions in law
  • Topographic maps (1:50,000) and quarter inch maps (1:250,000)
  • Land records

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  • Satellite imagery

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  • Garmin GPS76 for field data collection combined with onsite interviews

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Sand & gravel mining points on top right corner of map

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The smoking gun!

GIF of satellite images obtained from planet.com showing expansion of road network from

January to July 2019 against Supreme Court orders.

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Security

  • Local residents as guides to area
  • Plausible ‘cover story’ both to protect myself and sources
  • Information gathering completed before sending questions to Bahria Town Ltd

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