Traders’ leader denies land-grab allegations in Islamabad’s Chirah

ISLAMABAD: Allegations of an attempt to occupy hundreds of kanals of land have surfaced in Chirah village within the jurisdiction of Islamabad’s Nilore police station, with a former president of the Islamabad G-9 Traders Association denying the allegations and disputing claims of prolonged gunfire in the area.

A video circulating on social media purportedly shows residents of Chirah alleging that an attempt was being made to occupy their land.

The residents also claimed that firing continued in the area for around two-and-a-half hours.

However, Raja Javed, who said he had served as president of the Islamabad G-9 Traders Association for six years, rejected the allegations while speaking to HUM News, saying the area residents had made conflicting claims about the size of the land allegedly occupied.

“Sometimes they say 300 marlas, sometimes 20 kanals, 300 yards and sometimes 1,000 kanals,” Javed said, questioning the basis of the allegations.

He maintained that the people making the allegations were not themselves the owners of the land in question.

According to Javed, people claiming ownership of land in the area had approached him some time ago and sought an arrangement.

He said he had told them that the interests of the actual owners would be protected and that they would also be accommodated where possible.

Javed also denied that there had been two-and-a-half hours of firing in the area.

“I have spoken to people in the area and asked village elders and residents whether any firing or such incident had taken place. No one confirmed it,” he said, adding that a minor incident may have occurred but that the claim of prolonged firing was incorrect.

He further claimed that the people making the allegations had around 15 to 20 kanals of their own land beneath the hill and some additional land within a boundary wall, questioning their claim to a larger area.

Javed alleged that a “lobby” was backing the complainants and said he had sent people to speak to them and advise them to claim only what they were legally entitled to.

“If 20 kanals is their right, they should take 20 kanals, but they cannot claim money or land belonging to other people,” he said.

Javed also challenged the allegations against him, saying he was prepared to answer if anyone could prove that he had occupied even a single marla of someone else’s land.

The dispute has also involved an alleged assault.

Javed claimed that people opposing him had beaten one of his associates after he attempted to install an electricity connection on land allegedly owned by them.

Nilore police, however, confirmed receiving a complaint regarding an injured person and said a case had been registered in accordance with the law.

Police said the complaint concerned an alleged attack on a citizen during the installation of electricity on his mountainous land in the Chirah Mohri area.

The police did not independently confirm the competing claims over ownership of the disputed land, the alleged occupation of 300 kanals or the claim of two-and-a-half hours of firing.

The dispute comes amid continuing concerns over land encroachment and unauthorised development in different parts of Islamabad. Authorities have recently stepped up action against encroachments and unauthorised construction in the capital.

The ownership and possession claims in the Chirah dispute would ultimately require verification through land records and the relevant legal proceedings.