Swabi clears four roads of encroachments, reclaims state land

An anti-encroachment operation in Swabi district has cleared four roads of illegal structures and recovered state land that officials value in the millions of rupees, the district's deputy commissioner said.

Nasrullah told reporters the drive had removed encroachments along the Swabi-Jahangira Road in the district headquarters and along the Swabi-Mardan, Swabi-Topi and Swabi-Muneri roads. Dawn reported that the operation was continuing across the district.

He rejected the suggestion that the campaign had left influential people alone. "No one is allowed to build structures on government land, and similarly, no one is allowed to occupy footpaths in markets," he said.

Dawn's report did not give the total area of land recovered, the number of structures demolished, or a rupee figure for the land beyond the officials' own description of it as worth millions. It also did not say whether notices were served on occupiers before the demolition, whether any of those affected have gone to court, when the drive began, or how long it will run.

The four roads named by the deputy commissioner run out of Swabi towards Mardan and the surrounding towns of the district.

The News International, in a separate report, said the National Accountability Bureau had retrieved 1,395 kanals of Pakistan Railways land valued at Rs91.2 billion. That report did not identify where the land is located, over what period it was recovered, or whether the bureau has moved against any individual.

Neither report carried a statement from NAB, and the bureau's figure could not be independently confirmed. The two reports did not refer to each other, and no outlet put a total to the land recovered in Swabi or to the Railways land in the same account.