Bodies demand withdrawal of eviction notices to Sahiwal farmers
LAHORE: More than 50 organisations representing farmers, workers, women, youth, civil society and human rights groups on Wednesday urged the Punjab government to immediately withdraw eviction notices issued to tenant farmers in Sahiwal, grant them ownership rights over land they have cultivated for generations, and halt what they termed attempts to displace farming communities in the name of corporate farming and development projects.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Lahore Press Club, leaders of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee (PKRC), Anjuman Mazareen Punjab (AMP), Women Action Forum and several allied organisations demanded immediate cancellation of the notices, legal recognition of tenant farmers’ ownership rights and an end to land acquisition for corporate farming and housing schemes.
The speakers included PKRC President Tariq Mahmood, General Secretary Riffat Maqsood, Executive Committee member Farooq Tariq, Joint Secretary Qammar Abbas, AMP President Mehr Ghulam Abbas Sial, AMP General Secretary Muhammad Akhlaq and Women Action Forum representative Iram Kashif.
The organisations also presented a joint petition signed by representatives of political parties and organisations working for farmers, workers, women, youth and human rights, calling for withdrawal of the eviction notices and recognition of tenant farmers’ ownership rights.
The speakers said the coalition reflected a growing national consensus that protecting tenant farmers was not merely an agricultural issue but also one of social justice, democracy and human rights.
Mehr Ghulam Abbas Sial said eviction notices issued to tenant farmers, particularly in Village 9-L (90/92) of Sahiwal district, had created serious concern among farming communities.
He said around 250 acres of land had been cultivated continuously by local families since 1914, with the settlement expanding from 20 families to about 105 families comprising nearly 3,000 people whose livelihoods depend entirely on the land.
Muhammad Akhlaq alleged that officials, including the deputy commissioner, recently visited the village, marked the land with red flags and informed residents that it would be vacated under the Green Pakistan Initiative and the proposed Ashiana Housing Scheme.
PKRC President Tariq Mahmood said the planned evictions would displace entire communities that had cultivated and protected the land for generations. He warned that thousands of people would lose both their homes and primary source of livelihood if the land was acquired.
Farooq Tariq said the Constitution guarantees citizens the rights to dignity, livelihood and economic security, while Pakistan is also bound by international human rights commitments protecting adequate housing, food security and freedom from forced eviction.
He maintained that development should not come at the expense of communities that had cultivated the land for generations.
The organisations jointly demanded immediate withdrawal of all eviction notices issued to tenant farmers, suspension of all forced evictions and land acquisitions under the Green Pakistan Initiative, the Ashiana Housing Scheme or any similar project until farmers’ rights are protected, permanent ownership rights for tenant farmers, formal recognition of their historical claims, and intervention by the Chief of Army Staff, the Prime Minister and the Punjab Chief Minister to prevent forced evictions.
The Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee and Anjuman Mazareen Punjab reaffirmed their support for tenant farmers across Punjab and urged both the federal and provincial governments to recognize their land rights and end all forced evictions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026