I AM a Pakistani-American graduate of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) who has spent the last several months establishing a fruit orchard in Dumlotti, with plans to export the produce in time. While I have been able to set up a papaya and guava orchard, I am also planting quinoa (superfood grain) as per the guidelines of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s food security plan. I have also successfully experimented with olives in Kathore, and plan to add the crop to my orchard along with a state-of-the-art nursery.
There is trouble brewing in my farmland for some time. My family and employees are being threatened by a local land-grabber and the local police. This land-grabber currently also occupies a portion of my father’s land that had been legally acquired in Kathore many years ago.
On Dec 6, this person, along with police constables and private goons armed with assault weapons, kidnapped the farm’s sexagenarian manager. A local elder, Haji Ahmed, had to intervene to manage his release.
The said land-grabber, who happens to be a lawyer by profession, has also previously attacked my father in the Malir District and Sessions Court. Though, in the light of the incident, the court ordered police protection for my father, the law enforcers have failed to acknowledge the continued threats to our family, workers and land as they continue to fraternise with the said person. People like him taint the entire community of lawyers and undermine the public’s confidence in our judicial system.
The relevant authorities need to evict this land-grabber from our establishment and send a clear message that the rule of law reigns supreme in the land. The government should send a clear message that illegal occupation will not be tolerated.
Shan Siddiqui
Karachi
Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2021
