Pakistan: UN expert calls for immediate halt to forced evictions in Karachi

Reacting to reported plans by the Government of Pakistan to demolish thousands of dwellings and evict their inhabitants as part of a massive construction project, a United Nations human rights expert today called for a halt to operations as well as stepped-up efforts to avert homelessness as a result of the initiative.

Citing “troubling information on a new wave of forced evictions in connection with the construction of the Lyari Expressway in Karachi,” the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, said he had repeatedly voiced concern to the Government of Pakistan about the manner in which evictions connected with the project have reportedly been undertaken.

The expert, who serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, called for “an immediate halt of all forced evictions; for the concerned authorities to carry out open and genuine consultations, including through public hearings, with the affected persons, to ensure that evictions do not result in homelessness; and for the Government to take immediate steps to comply with its human rights obligations and to promptly act on this appeal.”

Reportedly, the Karachi City Government is planning to demolish and evict inhabitants of another 6,000 housing units in 20 different informal settlements throughout the city, including in Gulberg, North Nazimabad, Saddar, Jamshed, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Liaquatabad, according to the Special Rapporteur’s statement, which was issued in Geneva.

“When completed, the Lyari Expressway project allegedly will have rendered an estimated 250,000 people homeless,” it said.

Under international human rights law evictions shall only be carried out under exceptional circumstances, Mr. Kothari said.