RAWALPINDI, Aug 22: Senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Malik Arshad Awan has vowed to retrieve the property of poor villagers forcefully occupied by the powerful land mafia.

Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, Mr Awan alleged that the management of various housing societies had forcefully taken the land, owned by poor farmers, without paying any compensation to them.

“The affected people cannot move courts due to (their) financial constraints. The powerful land mafia has encroached (upon) thousands of canals of land owned by poor residents. But on part (behalf) of the affected people I would move court to return the property to the poor or at least compensate them,” Mr Awan added. He said the affected people belonged to Chaklala, Chakbeli Khan, Basali, Misrial, Misali and some other villages and were too poor to defend their rights in a court of law.

To a question, he said the affected people had been invited by him for registering their complaints against the housing societies, which had encroached upon their properties, adding that soon the land mafia would be compelled to return the land or compensate the people.