August 2002
For the 25 000 families illegally expelled from their homes in the Lyari river district of Karachi, Pakistan
More than 25 000 families and small businesses- some 200,000 people – are being expelled from their homes in clearance action started on the 21st January in a lower-class neighbourhood around the Lyari river, Karachi, Pakistan. By mid-March, 2000 families had already been expelled.
The reason behind the expulsions is the government’s plan for the construction of an expressway through the heart of this area. A controversial plan not only because of the uncertain human and environmental consequences, but also because the doubtful utility of the road.
For this reason, the Sindh High Court ruled that the authorities should stop the evictions and demolition, in order to allow for a full viability study of the construction to be done, and for a proper system of compensation to be put in place for the displaced. By continuing the destruction and evictions, President Musharraf’s government, is flaunting a Constitutionally binding High Court ruling, thus acting illegally.
The local population, with the support of 46 local organisations, are mounting a number of direct actions in opposition to the construction project. The people of Lyari demand an immediate halt to the evictions and the opening of a constructive dialogue with the authorities. They point to the risks of pollution and seek the opportunity to present viable alternatives, such as the construction of the highway on the outskirts of town
The authorities have committed to re-housing the evicted families on a site with no infrastructure, on the extreme margins of the town. Such relocation would result in the loss of jobs for these families because of the distance between home and work-place, and would leave them marooned in an area far from schools and health care facilities.
Moreover, experience has shown us that only a small minority would enjoy such re-housing. The majority will simply be left to find dwellings in other peripheral slums, thus creating the same vicious circle of vulnerability from which they have worked so hard to emerge.
On the 23rd March – Pakistan Day - President Musharraf was to inaugurate the construction site and present the project as a gift to the Pakistani people. He was forced to abandon the attempt due to popular outcry and local direct action.
The government resumed the Lyari evictions since the 27th June, and has still demolished more than 4000 houses without proposing any solution of resettlement for the most majority of the evicted families.
We, the undersigned, organisations of the North and South susceptible to the problems of the badly-housed and vulnerable of the South, demand that the Pakistan government :
- Respect the ruling of the Sindh High Court and stop the illegal evictions and destruction of people’s homes.
- Halt the construction project in order to allow for a proper independent viability study.
- Start a dialogue with the families concerned in order to reach a negotiated settlement.
Signatories:
France : AITEC, APEIS, Association Droit Au Logement, Droits Devant!, France Libertés, Frères des Hommes France, Solidarité, …
Japon : San'ya Welfare Center for Day-Laborers' Association Action Committee (Tokyo), San'ya Day-Laborers' Union (Tokyo), Sibuya Association for the right to life and housing (Tokyo), Association to Overcome cold winter days with Homeless, People in Kobe (Kobe), Resource Center for Homeless Human Rights (Tokyo) …
Contact to support the struggle of affectees : Eviction watch - Asian Coalition for Housing Rights
ewatch21@yahoo.com 
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