CDA Demolished 13,000 Homes in Noor Pur Shahan, Leaving Thousands Facing Displacement without Resettlement Plan

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and local police have finished tearing down 13,000 homes in Noorpur Shahan. Even with heavy protests from locals, the villages of Malpur and Noori Bagh were completely leveled.

Starting next week, the authorities plan to move into the remaining 12 villages, including Dori Bagh and Opera Shar. All police and administrative preparations are ready, and the goal is to finish this work by April 30.

The areas that were recently torn down have turned into a massive, low-cost marketplace:

• Salvaging Belongings: Families are digging through the ruins to save electronics, furniture, and kitchen supplies.
• Cheap Sales: Because people are desperate and have nowhere to store them, they are selling doors, windows, and iron gates for very little money.
• Contractors Arriving: Builders and scrap dealers from Rawalpindi and Islamabad are flooding the area with cash, buying up used bricks and metal at “throwaway” prices to resell elsewhere.

Who Lives There?

Locals argue that the government is unfairly labeling everyone as an “illegal squatter.” They point out that the population consists of four different groups:

1. Ancestral Owners: Families who have lived there for hundreds of years.
2. Unmoved Awardees: People who were offered compensation in the past but never left.
3. Older Settlers: Those who moved in during the Zia and Musharraf eras.
4. Legal Buyers: People who bought land and have official registration papers to prove it.

Despite these distinctions, the bulldozers are treating all properties the same as the city pushes forward with its new development project.

What will happen after April 30?

After April 30, the operation will move to five Christian settlements in Islamabad, including areas like I-9 and F-6. Residents there have already received notices and have been given two months to leave their homes.

This is part of a larger campaign to remove illegal buildings in areas around Bari Imam and Noorpur Shahan. Demolitions are still going on, even though many residents are protesting against them.