Zainab Saleem
5559
BMC 8
Blog
Islamabad, The Capital of Pakistan, where lives the most Elites of the country as well as highly designated Government Officials. Pakistan’s capital is known for its posh bungalows and trendy cafes, a place for the Country’s wealthy and politically connected to mingle. But there is another side of the city as well “The katchi abadi”, the local term for an irregular settlement. There are 10 recognized Kachi abadis In the very Center of the Capital, near 7th Avenue where almost 100,000 people live.
Tens of thousands of kachi abadi residents are always under threat of being summarily evicted from their homes as Capital Development Authority often demolish these residential slums by the orders of concern authority. Scenes of women and children standing on the rooftops of their shanty homes can be seen asking for their basic Human rights from the state of Pakistan.
There is no plumbing for water, no electricity or paved roads. Makeshift houses are made from bamboos, tarpaulin and tin sheets surrounded by bushes and hidden by trees; separated, the katchi abadi stand just a stone’s throw from posh bungalows
“INTERVIEW FROM AWAMI WORKERS PARTY ACTIVIST”
The issue of informal settlements is linked to the phenomena of urbanization, migration, and
urban poverty in general. This is by no means an issue specific to Pakistan. The poor and
working classes are forced by these broader dynamics to live in informal settlements, kachi
abadis, and slums. They have no provision of clean water, sanitation, electricity, and other basic necessities.
According to a recent research conducted by AHKRC: “Half of Pakistan’s urban population lives in slums.” “Only 1/3rd of the annual housing demand is being met in Pakistan”. “A quarter of the housing demand gap is met by the emergence of new Kachi Abadis” “According to March 23, 1985 Policy, there were 2,460 Identified Kachi Abadis among them 2,184 were to be regularized having a population of 5.10 million living over an area of 36,022 acres in Pakistan (AHKRC, 2010, Shelter for the Poor: Legislation and Enforcement- A Case Study of Islamabad. Akhtar Hameed Khan Research Center, Islamabad)
“INTERVIEW FROM ALL PAKISTAN KACHI ABADI ALLAIENCE MEMBER”
Since the development of Islamabad in the 1960s, the capital city has experienced an unprecedented degree of urban expansion, capitalist growth, economic, post-conflict and post-disaster migration and increased poverty resulting in the expansion of informal residencies. This is not an issue to be neglected, rather solved through proper channel.
“INTERVIEW FROM KACHI ABADI RESIDENT”
These people have arranged basic facilities to themselves. From schools to basic health care
units, they help each other with their daily tasks and minor responsibilities. The issue of slum
areas is not something to be taken lightly. The state must fulfill its responsibility to provide its residents with basic shelter, or at least not demolish their existing homes.
The solution to Islamabad’s housing problem seems to be lost in a haze of loopholes. Average Pakistani citizens can only wonder whether apathy, on the part officials, is to blame — or is it a crime to expect more.
