Human Rights Watch urges Pakistan to reform land laws amid eviction drives targeting urban poor

Police officers check data of Afghan refugees during a search operation to identify alleged illegal immigrants, on the outskirts of Karachi on November 17, 2023. (AFP/File)

• Watchdog says authorities should ensure no one made homeless, compensate loss of land, provide resettlement
• Officials have said in the past they are only working to remove structures that “encroach” on public lands, state property

ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Pakistan this week to reform its colonial-era land laws which the watchdog said were being used to forcibly evict low-income residents, shop owners, and street vendors to make room for public and private development projects.
The latest HRW report titled “I Escaped With Only My Life: Abusive Forced Evictions in Pakistan” details alleged widespread and abusive forced evictions that the rights body said disproportionately affected the most economically and socially marginalized communities in Pakistan. Authorities had evicted thousands of people without adequate consultation, notice, compensation, resettlement assistance, or means of redress in violation of their basic rights, the document said. 
Forced eviction is defined as “the permanent or temporary removal against their will and without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.”
“The Pakistani government urgently needs to reform its colonial-era land laws so that they are equitable, transparent, and in line with Pakistan’s international obligations,” HRW Senior Counsel Saroop Ijaz said.
“The authorities should ensure that no one is made homeless due to eviction, compensate the loss of land, and provide for the resettlement of those displaced.”
The government and police have not yet commented on HRW’s latest report, but officials have said in the past they were only removing structures that “encroached” on public lands or state property, which they deem both necessary and justified. Encroachment is a crime under several provincial and regional laws, and those convicted face fines or even prison sentences.
In its report, HRW interviewed at least 36 victims of forced evictions in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi who alleged that police used excessive force to remove tenants and, in some cases, also made illegal arrests. Interviewees also said there was “little consistency and less rationale” for evictions on the pretext of anti-encroachment drives. Victims said police were arresting and prosecuting those who resisted evictions, while corruption in land acquisition, and poor land registration mechanisms made it impossible for them to prove ownership of their land.
“Many of those evicted, in addition to losing their homes, frequently lose their livelihoods and access to essential public services, such as schools and health care,” the report said. “These practices worsen social and economic inequalities, disproportionately burdening people and households with low incomes, and who often are ethnic minorities.”
Pakistan’s colonial-era Land Acquisition Act (LAA) 1894 provides the template for public land acquisition in the country more than a century after its enactment. 
“The law and others based on it give the government almost exclusive authority to decide what falls within its scope and to displace people with minimum procedural safeguards that are contrary to international human rights law and standards,” the report added.