MINGORA: The landowners and traders along the Swat River near the Mingora Bypass have opposed a possible operation by the district administration against alleged encroachments, demanding that the boundaries of the river and adjoining areas be formally demarcated before any action was taken.
The demands were made during a press conference addressed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz divisional president and former provincial minister Wajid Ali Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl general secretary Muhammad Ijaz Khan and Pakistan People’s Party leader Riaz Ahmad Khan along with other landowners and traders.
They also said that the landowners and traders should be taken into confidence to find an acceptable solution to the issue, warning that they would be forced to seek legal remedies and launch a strong protest movement if the administration proceeded unilaterally.
The speakers alleged that the administration had conducted an anti-encroachment operation last year following the deaths of tourists in the Swat River, claiming that the action was intended to conceal administrative negligence.
They said settlements and business centres worth hundreds of millions of rupees were demolished during the operation, severely affecting the livelihoods of several people.They said that after the affected people rebuilt their establishments and resumed their businesses on a self-help basis, reports were now emerging that the administration was once again planning to demolish the settlements and launch another operation. They strongly condemned the proposed action.
The landowners said the property along the Swat River was inherited land belonging to their forefathers and had remained in their possession and use for decades. They added that several people had invested millions of rupees in establishing businesses on their own land.
According to the landowners, they possessed formal ownership documents and other legal records proving their rights over the properties. Despite this, they said, the administration was neither allowing them to conduct their businesses nor engaging with them to find a permanent and acceptable solution.
They maintained that if encroachments actually existed at any location, the administration should first determine the legal boundaries of the Swat River and identify the government-owned land through due process before taking action against any encroachments.
However, they said demolishing private or inherited property by declaring it an encroachment would not be acceptable.The speakers clarified that they were not opposed in principle to lawful action against encroachments, but would not allow private property, settlements and businesses to be destroyed in the name of an anti-encroachment operation.
They demanded that the district administration should hold formal negotiations with landowners, traders, elected representatives and officials of the relevant departments and find a solution through mutual consultation that complied with the law while protecting the rights of the affected people.
They warned that if the administration launched a unilateral operation without taking the landowners and traders into confidence, all political parties, the business community and landowners would jointly pursue legal action and launch a protest movement, holding the district administration responsible for the consequences.
