At least 12 policemen were injured when a drive to remove encroachments in Pakistan’s Sindh province turned violent, leading to clashes between the authorities and a mob.
The clashes took place on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) in the Qasimabad area of Hyderabad city in Pakistan.
Authorities faced stiff resistance from locals when they arrived with a strong police backup to remove encroachments and structures for restoring an irrigation channel and building a 24-foot wide road on the land.
Residents of the encroached structures pelted officials with stones, smashing panes of some government vehicles.
Around a dozen civilians from the protesting mob were also injured when law enforcement officials took to aerial firing and heavy teargas shelling to disperse the crowd.
“Some 12 policemen were injured in the violence by the crowd as well as some civilians,” confirmed Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zainul Abideen Memon, adding that the drive was still underway on Wednesday (January 6, 2025) after the previous day’s clashes.
The drive is being headed by the irrigation department.
Mr. Memon said 350-400 encroached structures were present in the area as per a survey by the Qasimabad Assistant Commissioner.
The residents, however, claim a different story, with many of them alleging that they bought the constructed structures for more than one million rupees and have been receiving monthly utility bills.
One person claimed that most residents had been living there since 2010.
Authorities have beefed up forces at the encroached land after the clashes and also cut off the electricity supply to the area.
Published – January 08, 2025 11:47 am IST
