CHITRAL, July 12: The residents of Seen Lusht village have alleged that the local administration on the behest of a local influential family was forcibly evicting them from their homes.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, villagers Shahzad Ali, Mohammad Nadir, Nowroze Ali, Hameedullah and others said that the family of former Senator Shahzada Burhanuddin was trying to evict about 700 people from their houses and agricultural lands in the Seen Lusht area. They said that the people were living there for several generations. The population could not be thrown out of their houses and lands by force, they said and appealed to President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Abdul Hameed Dogar to look into the matter and save the people from being deprived of their abodes.

The villagers and the Shahzada family ran a dispute over the land and the case was decided in favour of the family by the superior court.