KARACHI, Feb 2: The city council witnessed fireworks on Monday as defiant opposition members protested over a notification reportedly issued by the city nazim for the demolition of about eight villages which were described by the opposition as centuries-old settlements of Karachi’s natives.

Pandemonium broke out when opposition leader Juman Darwan of the Awam Dost panel backed by Al-Kidmat and Khidmatgar groups took the floor and drew the attention of convener Nasreen Jalil to a notification issued regarding the demolition of centuries-old settlements in the city.

Mr Darwan claimed that the notification was published in a local newspaper and later it was carried by the electronic media.

The villages set to be uprooted under the master plan are Muwach Goth, Yusuf Goth, Mudhu Goth (Gulshan-i-Iqbal), Mulla Essa Goth, Jamali Goth, Faqira Goth, Kundoo Goth and Yusuf Sahibzada Goth.

He told the house that according to his information, the utility organisations, including the Karachi Electric Supply Company and the Sui Southern Gas Company were being approached for disconnecting their services, and added that the assistance of police and Rangers was being sought for carrying out an operation.

Describing the proposed move of the city nazim as a conspiracy against what he called the local people of the city, the Awam Dost panel leader categorically stated that his group would not accept the plan, which was causing unrest among the people.

Mr Darwan alleged that the city nazim was fomenting ethnicity and was also “conspiring to create a state within state”.

The statement of the opposition created uproar in the house.

Treasury leaders Asif Siddiqui and Masood Mehmud denied the allegations made by the opposition leader. They argued that the opposition leaders were levelling allegations against the nazim on the basis of a report published in an eveninger and the contents of the report were yet to be verified.

But the opposition leaders did not agree to the contention of the treasury leader and continued their protest by making fiery speeches against the nazim.

The convener tried to calm the opposition leaders, but they refused to listen to her and insisted that being the custodian of the house, it was her duty to seek a clarification from the nazim regarding the “reported notification”. In an attempt to defuse the situation, she suspended the house business for five minutes.However, when the house reassembled, noisy disturbances continued as the opposition members insisted that the city nazim explain his position regarding the notification.

Taking the floor, leaders of the Haq Parast Panel Asif Siddiqui and Masood Mehmud tried to assure the opposition leaders that all settlements that existed in the city before 1985 would not be demolished.

They said the city government was trying to remove encroachments on public land so that it could be used for development works.

In this regard, Asif Siddiqui referred to a recent statement of the provincial local bodies minister that the Sindh government would work jointly with the city government for the removal of illegal structures in the city.

His remarks were supported by treasury members Arshad Qureshi and Qamar Husain. Denying the allegations made against the city nazim, they said the nazim had contributed a lot to the development of katchi abadis. But their arguments did not impress the opposition members who raised slogans against the treasury such as “stop the plunder and loot”.

The convener ignored the protesting opposition members and urged the house to resume the normal agenda.

Thereafter, the opposition protested strongly against what they called the biased attitude of the convener and tore into pieces copies of the agenda and staged a token walkout.

But the proceedings of the house continued and it hastily adopted two resolutions. A resolution pertained to the extension of the date for payment of fees regarding “change in the land status according to the recommendations of the EDO (master plan).”

The second resolution allowed a grant of lease for 99 years in favour of the Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation for building an ambulance service centre and an office. The land measuring 666.99 square yards is situated in the Old Clifton area on plots 59 and 61.

The resolution was passed by a majority vote amid boycott by the opposition.

The chaotic session ended in 40 minutes when the convener immediately announced after the passage of the resolutions that the house would meet again on Feb 16.

Press talk

Later, at a press conference, opposition leaders Juman Darwan, Rafiq Ahmad, Dr Ziauddin, Ramzan Awan and Imran Baghpatti slammed the attitude of the convener and termed it biased, alleging that the opposition members had never been allowed to make their case in a fair manner, adding that she had always given undue favour to the treasury.

They repeated their charge that the city nazim was planning to foment ethnic violence in the city by demolishing old settlements.

They warned that they would not allow the uprooting of Punjabi, Pathan, Sindhi and Baloch settlements in the city, saying that their apprehensions regarding the master plan had proved true.

The opposition leader alleged that the aim of the master plan was to occupy the land of old natives in the name of development works.

However, Haq Parast panel leader Asif Siddiqui denied the charges of the opposition, saying that the members of the city council must shun the practice of opposition for the sake of opposition.

He agreed that the resolutions tabled in the house were significant, saying that both sides of the house should have debated them freely.