The displacement in Basti Sheikhan, a historic riverside settlement near the Taunsa Barrage
The forced displacement in Basti Sheikhan, a historic riverside settlement near the Taunsa Barrage in Saraikistan/South Punjab, reflects the ظلم، جبر، and cruelty carried out by state authorities in the name of “development.”
The community is primarily made up of the Mohana indigenous fishing families — an old Saraiki and Sindhu river community whose roots along the Indus River stretch back generations, long before the creation of modern Pakistan. Their culture, language, livelihoods, and identity are deeply connected to the river and its history.
Tensions escalated when the Punjab Encroachment Regulatory Authority (PERA) and local administration launched aggressive anti-encroachment operations under the “Saaf Suthra Punjab” campaign. Under this operation, the government moved to clear the riverbank area to construct projects such as a new Circuit House and Guest House.
In sudden demolition drives, bulldozers tore through dozens of homes without humanity or mercy, leaving hundreds of poor residents homeless. Families say they were given neither proper written notice nor meaningful verbal warning before their houses were destroyed.
Many affected residents had previously labored on government-linked construction projects — including ferrying bricks and materials for official works — yet the same state machinery later turned against them. Women, children, and elderly people were left exposed under the open sky as homes built over generations were reduced to the rubble.
The operation is not “development,” but a state-backed displacement and economic violence against an old indigenous Saraiki-Sindhu river community already pushed to the margins.