Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Despite the Supreme Court’s orders to clean the capital’s land from encroachments, the CDA is still reluctant to demolish illegal mosques built on green belts due to fear and pressure by the religious sections.

According to a survey conducted by the CDA a few months back, about 45 mosques had been built on green belts in various sectors of the city. The number of mosques had been increasing for the last several years as no department dared to demolish the illegal structures.

Residential sectors of G, F and I series are among those areas that witnessed a significant growth of illegal mosques at green belts in the federal capital. These structures were also damaging the beauty of the capital besides being exploited by various religious organisations.

A senior official of the CDA told Daily Times on the condition of anonymity that powerful circles were assisting the construction of illegal mosques on green belts. He admitted mismanagement on the part of the CDA to take action against the responsible.

He said the mosques were developed with the support of the CDA staff due to having affiliation with different religious sects or taking financial benefits. Many countries, he claimed, had funded the construction of these mosques through different religious organisations.

The clerics have also damaged the CDA’s sewerage lines to connect lines for mosques but the department turned blind eyes on it and didn’t take any legal action, he said.

Giving the reference of Sector G-11, the official said a mosque was constructed on three marlas of land but the cleric had covered other 10 marlas for his residential quarters. He said most of the clerics had built mosques to encroach the land for residential purposes.

He said several mosques were also built in the area of the CDA officers colony and there were 14 unauthorised mosques in the capital’s biggest slum, the so-called “Afghan Basti”.

Despite this blatant flouting of the law, the official said, no civic agency or institution had taken action to either prevent or demolish the unauthorised mosques built at some valuable places due to the influence and pressure of clerics who built them.

He said the religious elements were well aware that they were protected by a “culture of impunity” and they relied upon the same to create widespread mayhem and damage whenever they find themselves called to task for their actions.

When contacted, the Director Building Control Section (BCS) of the CDA, Shafi Murrawat, said the significant growth of mosques were noted in the tenure of the former PPP government. He said the CDA had conducted a survey of illegal mosques and had shared the details with the law enforcement agencies. The CDA, he said, had served repeated notices to illegal mosques in the city and several were demolished in a campaign against encroachment. He admitted that the department was reluctant to demolish mosques forcibly due to the law and order situation.