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- May 24, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
ISLAMABAD: A portion of PTI’s central secretariat building in Islamabad was partially demolished by police and local authorities, who then sealed the area after alleging building bylaw violations. Late on Thursday night, representatives of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) showed up at the PTI office, which is housed in a commercial building in the G-8/4 sector, with large machinery. They demolished a guard room and two containers that were parked outside the building. They also took down a fence that was purportedly built on the civic body’s property. After that, the office was sealed due to purported “non-conforming use” and building bylaw violations.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, and Chairman of the PTI, Barrister Gohar Khan, denounced the move and called it a “targeted operation” against their party. Speaking to the media, Mr. Ayub compared the CDA’s “operation” to what the Israeli military has been doing to the Palestinian people. He claimed that the party was “being targeted” because Imran Khan, the party’s founding chairman, had a vision and fought for the rule of law that did not align with the government.
According to him, CDA ought to have given the party several hours to remove the structure if there were any infractions. District administration and CDA authorities released a statement claiming that the operation eliminated political party “encroachment.” The declaration stated that the land next to the officer belonged to the state and was also “encroached upon,” adding that the plot where the aforementioned building was located had been given to a guy named Sartaj Ali.
The building’s additional floor was also built against the ordinances. The owner was sent many reminders in 2020, 2021, and September 2023, according to the CDA, but the owner “did not pay any heed” to the notices. The notification further stated that on May 10, orders to seal the facility were given due to encroachment and building bylaw violations.