Current Situation Of Bahria Town Karachi’s Protest:

Bahria Town Karachi is known for its state-of-art infrastructure with international living standards with all the facilities one can dream of in a housing project. Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) is a city within a city hence it provides many amenities to its residents and people of Karachi such as a hospital, parks, amusement parks, commercial areas, restaurants, play areas, etc.

While Bahria Town Karachi promises to offer the best lifestyle for a housing society in Pakistan with more than 32 precincts and growing. Everything comes at a cost, Bahria Town Karachi has been in limelight due to positive and negative news over the years since it was established in 2015.

Bahria Town Karachi was recently in the news regarding a land dispute between Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) and Sindh villagers over the land of nooriabad. Where the villagers pro-claimed the land as their own without any legal documentation. The case was rejected by the Supreme Court Of Pakistan due to incomplete documentation regarding the land which resulted in angry villagers who mobbed into Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) on Sunday.

The protesters claimed the protest to be peaceful which turned into a complete opposite instead. While there being a heavy contingent of police posted right outside Bahria Town Karachi and the main gate being sealed with containers, the protesters breached the barricaded gate and entered the housing society while the police posted there did not stop them and as soon as they entered the main gate it was burnt down while another property was also set on fire.

Many ATMs were looted by the protesters as well as the offices which resulted in a minimum of Rs.35,000,000/- loss of cash. The protesters set fire on a Suzuki showroom, 2 internationally chained restaurants, Ali Plaza, other associates’ offices, cafes near Danzoo, DownTown Tower, Business trade center, people’s vehicles were torched as well. Many buildings and cars were vandalized and stoned by the angry protesters.

Bahria Town Karachi offers 1,00,000 jobs and the protest has not only harmed Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) but many other builders who had their properties in Bahria Town Karachi.  An opening of California Builders was planned for Sunday 6th June 2021 which was then postponed due to the protest.

The protest started at 4 pm and ended by 7 pm which ended with a large number of the property being damaged. However, Bahria Town Karachi’s team started cleaning up the mess as soon as the protest ended. Citizens of the  Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) called it a terrorist event because once hundreds of people reportedly approached the residential neighborhoods and looted valuables from the entire building. They said the people were equipped with weapons and set fire to properties because there were no police or Rangers on-site to secure them. People questioned what kind of estate victims the culprits of such violence and abuse were. With the help of five fire tenders, the fire department was able to extinguish the fire at four to five places in BTK, according to a fire department official.

The protest ended when police took over it and filled FIRs for the hundreds of people participating in this protest.

Conclusion:

The Bahria Town Karachi incident makes us think how even a well-gated suburb housing society isn’t safe, on Sunday hundreds of villagers protested in Bahria Town Karachi because of the land dispute of nooriabad. The Supreme Court Of Pakistan dismissed the case because of not enough legal documentation due to which the angry Sindh villagers took things into their own hands and protested inside Bahria Town Karachi, however, the protest wasn’t a peaceful one, the villagers destroyed and burnt properties inside of Bahria Town Karachi and looted offices and ATMs. The protest started at 4 pm and ended by 7 pm after which the Bahria Town Karachi’s staff team started cleaning up the debris. The police officers said that they have filed FIR against hundreds of people protesting in Bahria Town Karachi on Sunday. The protesters burnt down the main gate of Bahria Town Karachi;  whereas gate no 3 is still functional for the residents and others to use to commute.