MANSEHRA: The district administration on Friday carried out a major operation to remove illegal structures and commercial buildings on land owned by the forest department in the Shinkiari area. Over a dozen buildings along the Karakoram Highway were demolished to reclaim government land and ensure smooth traffic flow.
Baffa-Pakhal Assistant Commissioner Nayab Abbasi said personnel from the police, tehsil municipal administration, and forest department participated in the operation. Heavy machinery was used to pull down structures that had been repeatedly warned against but rebuilt by encroachers. Temporary stalls and handcarts were also shifted to TMA godowns. Abbasi urged traders to cooperate with the administration in clearing government land.
Read More: Lahore DC directs immediate action against encroachments
She added that the operation would expand to other parts of the tehsil, targeting all illegal structures along major roads. Local residents noted that many of the demolished shops and buildings had previously been removed but were reconstructed by encroachers, defying government directives.
In a separate development, Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) marked the 20th anniversary of providing artificial limbs to persons with disabilities (PWDs) affected by natural disasters and accidents. Director Waseem Saleem said HHRD had supplied prosthetics to over 62,000 PWDs free of cost and continued to provide financial assistance, education, and healthcare to thousands of orphans nationwide.
Read More: Mansha Bomb’s market among encroachments removed in Lahore
Dr Pirzada Khattak of the HHRD rehabilitation centre noted that after the 2005 earthquake in KP and AJK, over 80,000 people lost their limbs, and 48,000 had been provided artificial limbs by the centre. The cumulative follow-up visits of patients have now exceeded 400,000, highlighting the organisation’s continued support for people with disabilities.