Katchi Abadi residents decry CDA eviction, demolition drive

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of katchi abadi residents from across Islamabad gathered at G-11 Markaz over the weekend for an “Awami Adalat” to protest what they described as ongoing forced evictions by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), alleging the actions violate superior court rulings.

Organised by the Awami Workers Party (AWP), the event was attended by progressive political activists, students, intellectuals, trade unionists, journalists and local residents. Participants also raised concerns about what they termed profit-driven and environmentally harmful development policies in the federal capital.

Speaking at the gathering, AWP leader Alia Amirali said the CDA had become increasingly inaccessible to working-class residents and was neglecting basic needs such as housing and livelihoods while favouring large property developers, road contractors and bureaucratic elites.

She alleged that the demolition of long-standing settlements, including the decades-old Muslim Colony near Bari Imam — home to nearly 25,000 people — demonstrated disregard for stay orders issued by the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court. She further claimed that the Islamabad Capital Territory administration had used excessive force and intimidation during eviction drives in katchi abadis and in older model villages such as Saidpur, Malpur and Dhok Talyan.

Residents affected by the demolitions shared accounts of the trauma of losing their homes and the economic hardship that followed.

Speakers also criticised ongoing infrastructure projects, saying large-scale road construction and the cutting of thousands of trees were damaging Islamabad’s environmental landscape, including through alleged encroachments in the Margalla Hills National Park.

Representatives of Anjuman Rehribaan Islamabad highlighted what they described as routine harassment of street vendors, including the confiscation and destruction of carts by the CDA’s enforcement directorate.

The Awami Adalat participants vowed to continue mobilising for housing rights and asserting their claim to the city, arguing that Islamabad’s political and bureaucratic elite depend on the services provided by working-class communities.