The local government in Karachi has begun plans to demolish thousands of homes. A disproportionate number of which are Catholic homes. The reason for the demolish is to prevent flooding. However the local government has not communicated with local people properly, and many fear that they will not receive adequate compensation to move into new homes.

By ACN Staff

The Sindh provincial government has recently begun a clearance project in Hyrdebad and Karachi, as part of an anti-encroachment drive to try to prevent urban flooding. This planned clearance will involve the demolish of 14,000 homes and 3,000 shops. Recently 450 Catholic homes were demolished as part of this project.

The Archdiocese of Karachi is anticipating that 600 Catholic families will face forced eviction as part of the clearance in Gujjar nullah, a stream/drain in Karachi. The government has partly justified these clearances by saying the housing was built illegally. Around 60% of those impacted are Muslims, and 10 mosques are being demolished as part of the plan. Christians are not necessarily being specifically targeted. Rather this plan is impacting the disadvantage members of Pakistan’s society, whether they be Christians or impoverished Muslims.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke with Anum Arif, a local volunteer with Caritas Pakistan Karachi (CPK). Anum lives close the nullah and has grown up in the area. According to Anum, around 900 Christian families live in the slums in the vicinity of the nullah. Anum further elaborates on her family history in the area and Christian presence there:

“My grandfather migrated from Punjab province and bought 15,000 square feet of land only 30 feet from the drain. My relatives also own several houses. The area, which falls under St. Jude’s parish, includes two churches, two schools and a madrassa (Islamic seminary).”

The local government is also planning on broadening the roads on either side of the nullah. Anum said that certain households have been given seven days to vacate before the demolitions. The local government is refusing to inspect leasing documents from households.

The sad reality is that sometimes houses in floodplains need to be demolished. The bigger issue is related to how this is done and communicated with the local people. Above all, the issue of compensation needs to the properly dealt with. This is where the issues of the settlements being legal or illegal becomes very important.

Anum discusses some of the problems around compensation:

“The deputy commissioner and politicians are ambiguous about compensation amounts and resettlement plans. The chief minister claims he will give 15,000 rupees ($97) per affected household in the next six months. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered that compensation be given before the evacuations, but we are still waiting. As per rumors, barren land in the Karachi suburbs is being reserved.”

She also discussed the claims the settlements are illegal, by pointing out the government did not seem to care about it before and were accepting payments for services off the households in question:

“We are paying our electricity and gas bills regularly. The government departments accepted our payments for these utilities. They should be held accountable as well. The government has not shared any details of their cleanup operation or resettlement plans. We are now renting a two-room house, but many have no place to go. We don’t want money or land—we just need a house.”

There was a protest at a hospital that was to be demolished as part of the clearance plans. There was no engagement by the government with the protesters. Anum said that there are other ways of dealing with the flooding problem that do not involve demolishing the slums. For example, the nullah can be cleaned of rubbish and the stream canalised (have walls built around it like on rivers in most major western cities).

Anum explains that her father put all his savings into the family house. He had saved up this money working as a sanitary worker. Many other families are in the same situation, with Christians being disproportionally impacted. Anum finished by saying that Imran Khan had promised 10 million jobs and 5 million houses when he was running for prime minister in 2018. Instead in Karachi thousands of people are facing eviction and the demolition of their homes.