ISLAMABAD: A grand operation planned by the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA), which was to start on Monday, to evacuate Sector G-14 from land mafia and other illegal occupants was halted allegedly on political pressure.

According to details, the FGEHA under the supervision of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Hayat Bajwa had finalised the grand operation across G-14 to clear this sector from illegal possession of land mafia and various other groups who had forcefully occupied the land that was allotted to government employees more than 16 years ago.

More than 2,000 government employees were allotted land in Sector G-14 in the year 2004, and they have paid all the pending installments to get possession of the land, sources told Business Recorder.

However, the possession of this land was never given to the allottees as various groups in G-14 allegedly patronized by land mafia kept raising the issue of compensation against the possession of the land by carrying out illegal construction in the sector.

"All the compensation that was liable to be paid to different people in Sector G-14 has been paid. The allottees have paid all the installments. But even then, those elements who have illegally occupied the land in Sector G-14 are not ready to vacate the land. This issue has been lingering for the last 16 years.

The allottees are wandering from pillar to post to get a shelter. Most of them have now retired from jobs and several allottees have died in the hope that they will have a shelter of their own," sources privy to the matter told Business Recorder.

"Sensing the plight of the allottees, the CEO FGEHA, in consultation with stakeholders, had decided to launch a grand operation on June 22 but that operation has been halted on the alleged pressure from local leadership of the ruling party," the sources said.

The allottees of Sector G-14 told Business Recorder that they voted for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to get rid of those mafias, which, they said, had grabbed their land.

"We are the voters of the ruling party but seeing that local leadership of the same party is siding with the land mafia is causing us pain and panic," they said.

The allottees have written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan and demanded of Planning Minister Asad Umar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Capital Development Authority (CDA) Ali Nawaz Awan to play their role in resolving the matter in favour of the allottees.