Pasban-e-Watan Pakistan’s central president and former minister Muhammad Tahir Khokhar has alleged that influential land grabbing groups have occupied lands allotted to thousands of Mangla Dam affectees and Kashmiri refugees, depriving them of basic human rights. The authorities remain silent on this situation.
Khokhar said that families who left their homes and properties more than fifty years ago for the construction of Mangla Dam are still homeless and their allotted lands are under the control of land grabbers.
He accused powerful landlords, industrialists, and criminal networks in Punjab and Sindh of seizing these properties through forged documents, intimidation, and collusion with officials. This has caused immense hardship for the rightful owners, who are unable to access their legally owned lands.
Criticizing the Muslim League (N) and the People’s Party, Khokhar stated that these parties talk about the rights of these people during election campaigns in Azad Kashmir but completely ignore them after the elections. He said that despite being in power in Azad Kashmir, Sindh, and Punjab, no practical steps have been taken by these parties. The administration’s claims of action against land grabbing are hollow as these groups have been suffering for decades.
The younger generation of the affectees is deprived of basic necessities like education, employment, health, and social welfare. They are entangled in bureaucratic complexities, unable to reclaim their ancestral properties or receive legal protection. This situation has become a national crisis.
Khokhar appealed to government institutions, the judiciary, and the army to take decisive action against the land mafia. He demanded that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Murad Ali Shah initiate a judicial inquiry and urged the Azad Kashmir government to push for action at the federal level, including a review of revenue records, cancellation of fraudulent transactions, and restoration of property rights. He also demanded the establishment of a special judicial tribunal to address these issues.
He threatened a protest movement by the affected families if their demands are not met. Calling it a fight for justice, constitutional rights, and human dignity, he demanded action from all responsible institutions. He also urged the Public Action Committee to include these groups in their agenda, recognizing their sacrifices.