The Capital Development Authority (CDA) demolished part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretariat in the federal capital, citing “violation of building rules,” leading to sharp criticism from PTI.
🚨🚨 Hundreds of armed men and heavy machinery have reached PTI’s Islamabad Secretariat. The plan is not to vandalise it or seal it but to turn it into rubble. Can someone please inform the police!! OH WAIT, THAT IS THE POLICE destroying private property. Well done…
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) May 23, 2024
According to a statement, the CDA’s anti-encroachment team conducted an operation late Thursday night to remove illegal structures and encroachments. The operation started around 11:30 p.m. and concluded after an hour.
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The statement also mentioned that a “political party” was attempting to occupy the plot, which was originally allocated to an individual named Sartaj Ali. The CDA claimed that an additional storey had been constructed on the plot, violating building regulations, and noted that they had issued warnings to the party, which were ignored.
As the operation commenced, PTI instructed its workers to go to the secretariat immediately, asserting that the government was dismantling the office in an “illegal and unjust manner.”
While the CDA maintained that it had sent multiple notices to the former ruling party, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan denied receiving any such directives. He stated that CDA officials were asked to provide documentation regarding the operation, but failed to do so. He added, “If there had been any encroachments and they had informed us earlier, we would have removed them ourselves.”
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PTI Secretary-General Omar Ayub addressed the media outside the office, condemning the late-night action and stating that the party would raise the CDA issue in parliament.
Following the operation, CDA personnel locked the PTI’s central office and posted the order on the premises. During this time, PTI activists protested against the government’s actions, leading to the arrest of several party members by the police.