Peshawar anti-encroachment drive may hit JUI-F secretariat

An anti-encroachment operation in Peshawar may reach part of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's provincial secretariat on Ring Road on Wednesday, and the party has told its workers to be at the building from 8am to resist any demolition.

Express News reported that part of the JUI-F provincial secretariat, which stands on Ring Road, is among the structures that may be affected by the drive. The report said the party leadership, alerted to a possible operation, had directed workers to reach the secretariat on Wednesday morning.

UrduPoint, reporting the same development, carried the response of volunteers from the party's Ansar-ul-Islam wing, who said they would not allow even an inch of the secretariat to be demolished.

The two reports do not agree on whether the party has been formally notified. Posts circulating on social media said a notice had been issued to the JUI-F secretariat, but relevant departments including the Peshawar Development Authority said no such notice had been served, Express News reported.

JUI-F provincial amir Maulana Atta-ur-Rahman said the secretariat had received no notice. Former mayor Haji Zubair said the building had been constructed according to proper permits and an approved map, and that the party would not allow anyone to demolish it.

Express News described the drive as being carried out by the administration after governor's rule was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Skardu Times could not independently confirm the status of the provincial administration or the legal basis for the operation.

Neither report said how many structures the operation has covered so far, how much of the JUI-F secretariat is affected, or whether other buildings on Ring Road have also been marked. The timing of any action at the secretariat could not be confirmed beyond the party's instruction to its workers.

The building serves as the party's provincial secretariat in Peshawar.