Summary
Dozens of
Christian farming families of the three Chaks (villages)
No. 547, 584 and 587, of district Muzzafargarh in Punjab
province have been forcibly evicted since June 2006 and
others are still under the threat of being evicted. It is
alleged that their lands were illegally grabbed by a
politician of the ruling party in collusion with local
police and land revenue officials.
The alleged land grabber, Mr. Rai Mansab Ali, member of
the ruling party, Provincial Assembly of Punjab, has
claimed himself as the land owner of Chak No. 547.
Although, this claim was declared fraudulent by Assistant
Commissioner of Kot Addu (a sub-district of Muzzafargarh)
in 1994, he had managed to enforce his ownership of the
land in 2002, showing the Christian farmers as his
tenants with local Land Revenue Office record, by
allegedly bribing the police and concerned department
officials to produce forged documents.
Other cases of eviction have taken place through the
assistance of Mr. Atta Molna, the politician¡¦s
assistant. In June 2006, thirty acres of land belonging
to Mr. Lal Masih and Ms. Parveen James were forcibly
transferred to Mr. Atta Molna, a local Muslim. In
November 2006, four Christian farmers, Mr. Khurshid
Mangta, Mr. Hadayat Masih, Mr. Gulzar and Mr. Nazir
Pirandita, were evicted from their land while the crops
were destroyed. Each victim lost 10 acres of cultivated
land which was their only source of livelihood. Other
Christian families in the area are still under the threat
of losing their land to the same land grabbers.
The Church and other human rights organizations launched
a local campaign to address the situation in February
2007. Press conferences, appeals to the authorities and
demonstrations were held in Lahore, Muzzafargarh and
Multan. These events targeted the country¡¦s President,
Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Governor of Punjab
province, Federal Minister of Minorities¡¦ Affairs and
authorities at local level. Local groups also alerted
embassies of the Netherlands, France, Germany, Britain
and USA in Islamabad about the situation. International
support is needed to strengthen these local efforts.
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Sample
Letter
We write with deep concern for the
religious minorities (Christians) in Pakistan and
would like to draw your attention to the illegal
transfer of land occupied by Christian farmers at
District Muzzafargarh in Punjab province. Dozens
of Christian peasant families are at the verge of
economic collapse due to forced evictions from
their agricultural lands. It is alleged that such
were conducted by the land grabbers bribed by Mr.
Rai Mansab Ali, a Member of the ruling party at
the Provincial Assembly of Punjab.
The Christians in Chaks 547, 584 and 587 at
Muzzafargarh are facing great pressure from local
police and Land Revenue Department officials. Mr.
Lal Masih and Ms Parveen James¡¦ 30 acres of
cultivatable land was allegedly grabbed forcibly
by Mr. Atta Mulana, Mr Rai's assistant in June
2006. Mr. Khurshid Mangta, Mr. Hadayat Masih, Mr.
Gulzar and Mr. Nazir Pirandita were evicted from
their land and their crops were destroyed in
November 2006. Each one of them lost about 10
acres of cultivated land which was their only
source of livelihood.
Land entitlement of Christian community at the
area has been affirmed by local authorities. The
former Governor of Punjab and the Board of
Revenue Department Punjab have issued orders to
sell this land to the Christian community at
market rate in 1983, 1987 and 1992.
The injustice and corruption of the officials of
the concerned government departments is violation
of human as well as minorities' rights, amounting
to socio-economic annihilation of the local
Christian community. It contradicts the country's
honourable pledge stated under its constitution:
Articles 24 and 36 of the Constitution of
Pakistan guarantee "Protection of
Property" according to law and
"Protection of Minorities" to the
citizens of Pakistan. Besides, Article 4.1 of the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
the National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic
Minorities, binds the states to ensure human
rights and fundamental freedoms without any
discrimination and in full equality before the
law.
We strongly request your government to take
serious notice of the abovementioned situation
and direct the concerned authorities to:
- investigate
the cases of eviction and take legal
action against alleged land grabbers,
namely local police, officials of Land
Revenue Department ¡V Punjab and Mr. Rai
Mansab Ali;
- return
grabbed lands to Christian families and
stop further evictions at District
Muzzafargarh, Punjab province; and
- ensure the
protection of properties of religious
minorities in the country.
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Background
District
Muzzafargarh of Punjab province was managed by Thal
Development Authority, government of Punjab. Despite
consistent efforts by the government before 1976, this
part of the great desert could not attract the farmers
because of hard conditions, lack of canal irrigation and
inadequate sub-soil water.
Hundreds of Christian landless peasants began to settle
in different villages of the District in 1976. The
Christian peasants have made tremendous sacrifices to
make the piece of land cultivatable. They came from afar
leaving their kith and kin, bore financial losses, and
went under all kinds of hardships to make this part of
desert bloom over the past 30 years.
Land entitlement of the Christian community in District
Muzzafargarh was affirmed in previous executives¡¦
orders by provincial authorities:
The
former Governor of Punjab, General (R) Ghulam
Gilani issued orders of selling this land to the
Christian community on the market rate of that
time on December 6, 1983, Reference No. GS (B)
83/2395.
The
Board of Revenue - Punjab, the highest land court
in Punjab, issued orders for allotment of the
land to Christian farmers of these Chaks on
December 20, 1983, Reference No. 2223/83/2541.
Moreover,
the Board of Revenue - Punjab issued orders based on the
land adjustment policy introduced by the government in
1947, when land in Pakistan was adjusted for Indian
migrants who have given up their land in India to join
Pakistan. Those orders state that land belonging to the
Christian farmers in the abovementioned Chaks should not
be adjusted against any claim or scheme. On August 20,
1987, the Board issued orders (Reference No. 1388 -
87/1736) to District Muzzafargarh Administration
re-iterating that "the land occupied by the
Christian farmers should not be adjusted against any
claim of agricultural property". On June 25, 1992,
the Board issued the same orders for the third time
(Reference No. 789 - 92/1114).
The illegal act of grabbing the land and evicting the
Christian farmers in Chaks 547, 584 and 587 at
Muzzafargarh started in the late 1990s but restarted with
new wave in recent years especially in 2006.
Source:
Local source
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