ISLAMABAD: Residents of Malout village held a protest against planned acquisition of land in their village and demanded that they not be displaced from their ancestral land.

The protesters gathered at Chak Shahzad, holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the government. They demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of the issue.

Shabir Abbasi, one of the protesters, told Dawn that Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation had been trying to acquire the land of Malout which is located about seven kilometres from Chak Shahzad.

“There is around 5,000 kanals and we have been living there for the last 100 years so it should not be acquired,” he said.

Another protester, Raja Mohammad Farooq, said unfortunately whenever a decision is taken to develop a housing society, people living in the area are displaced. “We have decided not to vacate our land and will resist any decision to remove us from here,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2015

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