The word 'Malir' denotes basically a region of pastoral wealth, a patch of rich and fertile plain or meadow; it has a variegated topography. Over the years, Malir has fallen victim to increased unchecked urbanization. Land developers -unscrupulous and less unscrupulous alike -have adversely affected its ability to ensure supplies of fruits and vegetables. This green belt in the periphery of Karachi or the land that constitutes most of Malir's dehs had become more precious because of unplanned construction in the city that has obliterated its green spaces.
At the time of Partition of the sub-continent, 80 percent area of Pakistan's Punjab was rural. At present, the situation is quite different: over 50 percent of today's Punjab is said to be urban unlike India's Punjab where two-thirds of the population still lives in villages. People are moving from countryside to urban areas in droves, and for various reasons, expanding the size of urban centres. In Punjab one of the main reasons behind the shrinkage of rural areas is a relatively fast pace of industrialization. Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, witnesses the highest population growth rate in the entire country, mainly because of arrival of people from southern Punjab, in recent years in particular. Known as "Seraiki speaking" people, they land in the country's economic hub to seek better livelihoods and access to better services such as education and healthcare. But the overwhelming majority of "new Karachiites" live in the katchi abadis adjacent to planned urban areas of the city. The latest expansion of Karachi is due to massive development in the outskirts of the city with the emergence of mega housing schemes. The lands acquired for these schemes have evoked considerable controversy. The Defence Housing Authority, for example, has been accused of acquiring a massive piece of land in a controversial, if not unlawful, manner in Malir district and also on "throwaway prices." Insofar as the role of the Sindh government is concerned, there is no doubt about the fact that it had failed to follow the due process of law in the allotment of land to DHA Karachi that requested around 20,000 acres of land for DCK for the purpose of rehabilitating the families of the soldiers martyred in the war on terror. But the DHA Karachi has no plausible answer to the question why it had sought 20,000 acres of land when the number of those army personnel martyred in the war against terror is less than 10,000 as, according to the administrator of DHA Karachi, the fallen soldiers are largely compensated according to their ranks. Only recently, the Sindh government transferred an additional 8,500 acres of land to the army in district Jamshoro at the rate of Rs 15,000 per acre. The question, however, is: how could DHA Karachi or any other land developer use the name of martyred soldiers for commercial purposes? What answer does it have to the question why the families of the fallen soldiers could not be allotted land closer to their homes?
Both civilian and army authorities are required to look into what reputed experts have pointed out in this regard. They seem to have plausibly argued that development of schemes like DCK on an area which is twice the size of the first eight DHA phases in Karachi in the green belts and protected areas of Karachi, violates rights to property, environment laws and principles of urban planning. There are no two opinions about the fact that DHA as a nationally recognized corporate entity has carved out its residential and commercial projects by relying on the elements of strategic planning, development and sustainability in various parts of the country quite successfully. That it has provided millions of people "modern living" is a fact. But the entity unambiguously belongs to the army mainly because of the fact that its governing and executive boards comprise both present and retired senior army officers. It is therefore required to always demonstrate a lot of caution and prudence insofar as its dealings with civilian authorities are concerned. Will DHA Karachi accept the fact that the Sindh government had set a trap and it fell into it?