WRONGFUL land and property grabbing is not only systematic. It like a spiderweb trapping its prey: suspending it until it is exhausted and surrenders its life. The emotional, psychological, societal and physical turmoil takes a toll on the victim. The grabbers not only occupy the property of the victims but “use” the very institutions supposed to protect the victim: patwari, police and the justice system. Have you ever wondered what a victim of a land grabber goes through post-incident? At every step, system is a monster.

Worse. If the victim is old and weak. Mafias are not the only ones unlawfully occupying one’s assets. At times these are the family members. Feeble grandfather or father is turned out of his very own house who is forced to live in sheer misery while the rest enjoys his hard-earned assets. The household's private environment prevents anyone from knowing the exploitation of the weak inside. Forged signatures are a no-brainer and every legal hurdle is rolled by the bribe and connections. The poor soul is silenced, imprisoned or chained in his own house. The police is tamed and the justice is allured.

“My three grandsons locked me in my room, they would torture me day and night, dragging me from door to door, to get my savings in the bank continuously telling me to cut my leg if I did not comply. They strangled me several times, leaving only when I would faint,” said Haji Zulqarnain, a 92-year-old man who was living with his grandsons after the death of his son and wife. He had sheltered them for years but now they wanted him to hand over all his savings and the very house they were living in. He was finally rescued by the neighbours who were able to listen to his screams and calls for help.

Zulqarnain is not the only one who is failed by the apathy, incompetence and corruption of the system. There are several other stories where the old are left to languish on the streets and all their possessions are forcefully acquired by their relatives. For many suffering in silence is the only option.

Those who can get some support and sum up efforts to speak also present a gory picture. Pain is excruciating. Justice is costly. Remorse and shame engulf them as they shuttle from one office to another seeking justice. The agony of losing one’s property, delayed justice, expensive lawyers, and a corrupt system takes all that has been left - by the land grabbers.  

Delayed justice especially favours the culprits if the victim is old aged. Chances are that high stress, fatigue and anxiety will take him to his grave well before he gets justice. At times the play starts from the “Patwar Khana” where is not hard to change the ownership document of a property called “Fard”. Other times the land grabbers start building boundary of the land to be occupied. The victim can surely resort to police, file a complaint in the DC office but he has to have all the resources, manpower, time energy and must be ready to face the consequences of going against the grabbers! The state will not be an umbrella on his head.

Meanwhile, if a departmental inquiry against the Patwari- a whole new game starts. The grabbers’ lawyers come into play using all means to delay the process of justice. The victim may be entangled in false cases to further his agony. Land grabbers thrive on the weakness of the system. Even if the victim gets justice and the court orders the evacuation of the property by the land grabbers, the local police station is usually found unwilling to respond. Once again, the system bites the weak. One needs to pay for every step of the process from petrol in the police van to stationary in the police office to get things done. 

The PTI’s drive against the illegal land occupation is commendable, however, huge benefits can be reaped only if attention is paid to empower the system. Land grabbing deters foreign investors to invest in real estate in Pakistan. Overseas Pakistanis are also living under the sword of being robbed of their hard-earned assets by land grabbers. The policymakers must think considering themselves in the shoes of a person who has lost all his hope, shelter and safety- who has lost his home at the age of 92!