What happened : The Supreme Court with a bench comprising of Mr. Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Mr. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Mr. Justice Qazi Amin has called for a continuation in the operation of the Gujjar ravine (Nala) and Orangi ravine (Nala) in Karachi. The court rejected the appeal of the residents of that area. However, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed condemned the Sindh government for its delayed action in implementing appropriate measures to protect residents from encroachment. On questioning the legal status of the areas, the government representative Faisal Siddiqui responded that they were acquired legally. The opposition conversely argued that the leases received were fake, deeming the whole process illegal. Ahmed concluded that for the demolition to continue the government will have to compensate the residents generously. Moreover, the Chief Justice opened an investigation to check the legality of different developments all across Karachi.
If the Supreme Court doesn’t rule in favor of Gujjar Nala and Orangi Nala affectees tomorrow, 50,000 people will be left without homes. Out of that number 21,000 are children
Please join us in campaigning to stop demolitions with the hashtag: #SupremeCourtStopDemolitions https://t.co/WqzCJEtpFO
— Karachi Bachao Tehreek (@StopEvictionKHI) June 13, 2021
Demolitions result in the loss of not just physical infrastructure but also the infrastructures of care and community which are built in the absence of state services. Razing homes means demolishing people’s support systems. #SupremeCourtStopDemolitions pic.twitter.com/DsEy3rnZci
— Tooba Syed (@Tooba_Sd) June 13, 2021
The bigger picture : The Gujjar Nala houses more than 50,000 people including 21,000 childeren that have been living in that area for over 50 years. They have been protesting the illegal convictions since January and many have already been displaced. The question of appropriate compensation remains unquestioned despite the condemnation by the Supreme court.
Chief Justice has rejected our plea to stop demolitions in Gujjar Nala. Affectees have decided to stage a sit-in on the the road outside SC Karachi Registry#HousingForAll pic.twitter.com/ksacxxEBzh
— AWP Sindh (@AWPSindh) June 14, 2021
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