May 20, 2002	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1423

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QUETTA, May 19: The central joint secretary of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-QA), Mir Zarak Khan Zehri, has condemned the demolition of Kutcha houses in the Railway colony and demanded that railway authorities should stop this process immediately.

Speaking at a news conference here on Sunday along with Nazim and councillors of the area, he said that the railway authorities had promised that they would demolish only commercial buildings constructed illegally on the Railways land and would not take action against Kutcha houses constructed by poor railway employees.

He said that violating the railways’ own promise the authorities had launched demolition campaign in the colony and during the last three days around 130 such houses were demolished without any notice. He said that such situation has created unrest among the people of the area.

The PML-QA leader said that houses demolished by the railway authorities belonged to widows of railways employees, retired railways employees and other low-paid employees of Pakistan Railways. He said that around 200 families have no option but to live in the open sky.

He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf during his referendum campaign promised the people of Railway colony that their houses would not be demolished till providing alternate place and in this connection he issued orders to the railway authorities. He said that he tried to talk with railway officials in Quetta but they refused to talk on the issue with him and elected councillors of the area and continued removing the Kutcha houses constructed at railway’s land.

He said that with demolition of around 3,000 such houses hundreds of poor families would become homeless and a new problem would be created for the provincial government. He demanded of the President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Provincial Governor Amirul Mulk Mengal and Corps Commander Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir to take notice of the situation and stop demolition of houses of poor people until alternate land was not allotted to them some other place in Quetta.