Daily Times

Fists and batons flying in all directions. Section 144 put down as a shut-up call to those who may dare step out in protest. Calls to double the labour force to raze down the 15-storey grand structure. The closing act of Nasla Tower sounds straight out of a mission field. The honourable Supreme Court has slammed the hammed down and the wheels have finally been set in motion. Fear and uncertainty are tightening their grip around builders. What would happen to their other gold mines scattered around this labyrinth of the city, they wonder. Their menacing finger is already up in the air, trying to up the ante with the wild threat that usually works: no more construction in Quaid’s Karachi. Sending a strong message to those who are stuffing their pockets with shady dealing was long overdue. No qualms about that. Amid times when our willful blindness of Malik Riaz and his blatant trampling of law has made Pakistan a laughing stock of half of the world, the Supreme Court was spot-on in its refusal of any leeway to property developers. Encroachments have been in vogue for the past few decades. Every so often, a so-called real-estate guru magically emerges on the screen, grabs land left, right and centre (wherever he can find space to spread his legs) and transforms the country’s precious land into a goose that lays golden eggs. May it be bootlegging or bribery, playing chummy-chums with relevant officials or plain racketeering, their arsenal always has something or the other to take the government for a ride.

However, in its understandable ambition to fight against all things bad, the state has forgotten that Nasla Tower was not just a milk cow. When turned to rubble, it would take away the once-in-a-lifetime chance for many, many residents to call a place home. Their own home. And enjoying such fancy dreams in the city of light is a privilege only a handful can afford. A grave human tragedy is definitely in the making. Going by the dismal rehabilitation of those forced out of their houses in Gujjar and Mehmoodabad, it would be utterly naive to expect payments within three months. In the past, the Supreme Court had decided to preserve third-party interests in Bahria Town and Constitution One tower by issuing far less severe penalties. Many wonder why instead of pursuing those who give out such erroneous construction permits in the first place or badgering an early reimbursement to residents, the entire script was read out backwards. Shouldn’t a forceful eviction be the last pitstop? For how long would these poor people be forced to spend under open skies? Their anguish hangs heavy in the air. *