Islamabad: A delegation of local peasants of Batakundi Tehsil, Balakot has demanded an immediate end to, what they called, a military operation being conducted by Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to evict them from their ancestral lands.
In a press conference here on Wednesday at Islamabad Press Club the representatives of the affected peasants alleged that FWO on the behest of the local feudal lords, Muzammil Shah and General (Retd) Tirmizi, have launched a military operation to evict them from their ancestral lands on which they claimed living for the past many centuries.
They said that on 11 October 2011 uniformed personnel launched an operation to occupy their lands and this attempt was resisted by the people and a protest demonstration was taken out in Balakot. Those who were resisting the occupation were being constantly harassed by the authorities. Nine people have been arrested and cases were prepared against 32 farmers, the representatives said.
They demanded the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto action against the alleged illegal military operation and called for its immediate halt, withdrawal of cases against the affectees and acknowledgment of their rights to their ancestral lands.
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