Capital Development Authority and the Islamabad District Administration have failed to reclaim land on which Jamia Hafsa had made illegal constructions.
The interior ministry had recently given CDA directions to reclaim the land illegally occupied by Jamia Hafsa.
Two weeks back, CDA had given Madrassa Al-Hafsa (Jamia Hafsa) and Lal Masjid 15 days to remove its illegal encroachments on state-owned land.
Jamia Hafsa had recently started making more structures on the park adjacent to it. The madrassa had already made illegal constructions on the land.
A CDA official on the condition of anonymity told Naya Daur that they had decided to conduct an operation against the illegal occupation and construction by Jamia Hafsa. However, he added, Islamabad’s deputy commissioner issued a notice on social media and declared that they had taken back the notice given to Jamia Hafsa. The official added that we stopped the operation under pressure.
He added that once a notice has been issued to vacate illegally occupied land or remove illegal structures, it cannot be taken back, but the DC Islamabad not only took it back but also posted it on social media.
Jamia Hafsa’s building is located in sector G6 of Islamabad, which had been destroyed during the 2007 Lal Masjid operation. Following the operation, there had been an agreement between CDA and the Jamia Hafsa administration, according to which they were to be provided land in Sector H-11. According to a report in Dawn, this land was not provided to Jamia Hafsa.
Meanwhile, Jamia Hafsa, while negating the stance of the CDA, has said that it did not occupy the children’s park. However, it admitted that the construction was done without the authority’s permission.
Moreover, Naya Daur repeatedly tried to get in touch with DC Islamabad Hamza Shfaqat regarding the taking back of the notice, but he did not respond.