Residents of Rimsha Colony and Shapar Colony in Islamabad staged protests on Wednesday against possible eviction by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), saying thousands of working-class families could be displaced without notice, consultation or alternative housing.
A large number of residents gathered in H-9 Rimsha Colony, alleging that CDA officials had verbally instructed them to vacate the area and warned that an operation could be launched if they failed to comply. Protesters said no written notice had been issued and that the move could trigger a humanitarian crisis for families who have lived in the settlements for years.
Thousands of Christian residents of Rimsha colony H-9 come out in protest against CDA orders to evict the abadi in 2 days. Families are fearful they will be made homeless overnight. The govt needs to stop treating people like cattle & come up with a rational, humane solution. pic.twitter.com/gDbKUY90SR
— Ammar Rashid (@AmmarRashidT) March 11, 2026
“These are not temporary slums,” one resident told the Friday Times. “Many houses here are properly constructed double-storey homes. People have invested their life savings here.”
Residents also said a Supreme Court stay order protecting katchi abadis in Islamabad remains in effect and questioned the legality of any eviction attempt without due process.
“Many families have lived here for over 15 years, while nearby settlements such as Akram Gill Colony and Allama Iqbal Colony have existed for nearly three decades,” Zeeshan, an organiser with the Awami Workers Party and the Katchi Abadi Alliance, told The Friday Times.
“Issuing directives to slum dwellers to vacate the area without offering them any alternative shelter is a great injustice,” he said. “If the CDA wants the area vacated, it must provide nearby relocation because these families depend on jobs in the city.”
According to residents, many men work as labourers while women are employed as domestic workers in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed alarm over the situation, warning that eviction notices had been issued despite a 2015 Supreme Court stay order protecting katchi abadis.
“These neighbourhoods are home to approximately 25,000 residents, primarily Christians,” HRCP said in a statement. The organisation noted that many families were relocated to H-9 in the early 2010s following false blasphemy allegations against a Christian teenager, Rimsha Masih, and the subsequent security threats faced by minority communities.
HRCP urged the government to halt any eviction plans until guaranteed resettlement is provided in line with domestic law and international human rights obligations.
In recent weeks, the CDA has carried out large-scale anti-encroachment operations in parts of Islamabad, demolishing homes in older informal settlements such as Muslim Colony and Bari Imam.
Residents fear the same action could soon be taken against Rimsha and neighbouring colonies.
Community representatives said the settlements have long been recognised by state institutions. Addresses in the areas are registered with the National Database and Registration Authority and the Election Commission of Pakistan, while electricity and gas utilities have installed infrastructure in the neighbourhoods.
“These facts show our presence has been formally acknowledged for years,” residents said in a statement, warning that demolitions along streams and nullahs could destroy hundreds of homes without any rehabilitation plan.
CDA officials, however, maintain that action is being taken against illegal encroachments.
A senior CDA officer said Shapar Colony in G-7 Markaz was an illegal settlement located between Khadda and Sitara markets. The authority recently removed commercial structures built on a green belt and a public park.
“No one has the right to do business on public parks or roads after encroaching on state land,” the official said.
Regarding Rimsha Colony, the officer said only certain commercial structures, such as depots, had been removed and added that the authority would review records to verify claims that residents had been relocated there by the CDA.
“If any such agreement exists, CDA will honour it,” he said, adding that the authority could not allow illegal settlements on state land to expand indefinitely.
Human rights organisations say such disputes reflect broader structural problems in Pakistan’s urban development model.
A report by Human Rights Watch states that authorities across Pakistan frequently use anti-encroachment drives and colonial-era land laws to remove low-income residents with minimal procedural safeguards. In many cases, evictions occur without consultation, adequate notice, compensation or resettlement assistance, leaving families homeless and stripping them of livelihoods.
The report notes that Pakistan’s Land Acquisition Act of 1894 allows authorities to acquire land for vaguely defined “public purposes,” enabling large-scale displacement while offering limited protections to affected communities.
Research by the University of Essex titled Permanent Impermanence: Katchi Abadis and the Crisis of Forced Evictions, Displacement and Low-Income Housing in Islamabad argues that the capital’s property regime has historically benefited state officials and commercial interests while excluding the working classes from formal housing markets.
As a result, low-income residents are pushed into informal settlements where they live under constant threat of demolition.
The study recommends comprehensive surveys of katchi abadis, policies for regularisation and secure tenure, and the allocation of land for affordable housing to address Islamabad’s growing housing inequality.
For the residents of Rimsha and neighbouring colonies, however, the immediate concern remains the uncertainty surrounding their homes.
“If the government removes us without giving us somewhere else to live,” one resident said, giving an interview to the Friday Times, “where are 25,000 people supposed to go?”