Police fire tear gas as people protest anti-encroachment operation in Karachi

KARACHI: An anti-encroachment operation turned violent here on Thursday when police fired tear gas at people protesting demolitions in the city's Gulistan-e-Johar area.

The demonstrators, enraged at the demolitions in Blocks 10 and 11 of the KDA Scheme 36 neighbourhood, also set fire to a police vehicle. Protesters brought out their garbage bins and other items to block the area's roads, including the route from Munawar Chorangi to Kamran Chowrangi.

The protesters maintained that the KDA had allotted them the plots some 30-40 years ago, stressing that the anti-encroachment operation was "illegal".

Further, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had leased some of these houses back in 2014, the demonstrators added. They said their lawyers had obtained documents from the government of Sindh and all of them — seen by Geo News — were full and complete,

Heavy contingents of police officers in riot gear, shields, and batons charged protesters after the police vehicle was burned down, and started firing tear gas in order to curb the demonstrators. Officers — more than 100 in number — had been summoned from the police headquarters as well as the local police station. There was also a large contingent of Rangers at the scene.

However, the number of protesters totalled more than 1,000, as per a Geo News reporter on site.

In the ensuing chaos, there was heavy firing from unknown directions, apart from stone-pelting and arson by unidentified people.

Traffic police, in this regard, said the incoming traffic from Munawar Chorangi was being rerouted to Pehlwan Goth, while that from Mosamyaat was being redirected to the University Road.

Machinery to demolish houses and other roadside businesses as part of the anti-encroachment had also been brought to the site.

It is noteworthy that the allottees had earlier gone to the high court and the Supreme Court where decisions were made in their favour; however, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) claims it was carrying out the anti-encroachment operation to facilitate the same allottees.

They explained that they attempted to carry out the anti-encroachment operation last week too but it had to be postponed due to the protests. Today, on the other hand, they asserted that the operation was initiated on the court's orders.