Claim: The new blueprint of the Malir Expressway indicates that the project’s successful completion will not result in the demolition of any houses.. Niaz Soomro, the Project Director for Malir Expressway claimed that according to their new alignment there are no buildings on their way while the initial alignment was affecting up to 700 houses.
Fact: The Women Democratic Front (WDF) visited three villages — Haji Ghulam Muhammad Goth, Qadir Magsi Goth and Shapi Goth. They reported that based on their visits, 5,000 families will be displaced as almost 3000 buildings are situated in the area where the Malir Expressway project will be extended to. In addition, Soch Fact Check confirmed that several houses, madrassas, schools and libraries were marked to be demolished by government officials.
On 20 July 2024, Geo News Urdu shared a news report on Facebook. In this report, a journalist claims that experts believe this project to be a good step and that government officials and the Malir Expressway project director have ensured it will not result in the demolition of any houses. He goes on to claim that the project will not affect the riverbed. While the video report includes a few statements from locals from Haji Ghulam Muhammad Goth, it reported false statements given by government officials and Niaz Soomro without fact-checking them.
The Malir Expressway Project
The Malir Expressway is a major infrastructure project in Karachi, Pakistan, purportedly designed to alleviate traffic congestion and improve city connectivity. This 39-kilometre, six-lane expressway runs along the Malir River, linking the Jam Sadiq Bridge to the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9). In this video Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah can be seen calling this the best project for Karachi.
The project includes multiple interchanges, bridges, and underpasses and while it promises significant reductions in travel time and promotion of urban development, it has faced some environmental concerns. In addition, several residents of the Malir district, who will be displaced as a result of this expressway, have protested against the project. The rest of the article further elaborates on the environmental concerns and the potential for mass displacement.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check spoke to the Women Democratic Front (WDF), a political organisation that works with people in the Malir district to raise a grassroots movement against the Malir Expressway project. The WDF told us that they carried out multiple visits to three out of the 26 villages affected by the Malir Expressway. Local residents and lady health workers who work in the area, Asma, Gulbano and Hajra, had previously carried out their own research on the ground and conveyed to the WDF that 26 villages are present where the blueprint puts the Malir Expressway. The WDF found that around 3,000 buildings will be demolished and 5,000 families will be displaced.
Soch Fact Check also spoke to Kainat from Qadir Magsi Goth, Ghulam Muhammad from Haji Ghulam Muhammad Goth, and Ameer Hamza from Shapi Goth, all residents of the Malir district. They showed us several homes, schools and residential buildings marked for demolition by the Sindh government in the three Goths mentioned, proving that the claim is false.
Soch Fact Check also found at least 8 more buildings in areas affected by the Malir Expressway which were clearly marked by the government for demolition. These buildings included houses, a madrassah, a library, two subsistence cattle farms, a mosque, and a community centre. Locals near these locations told us that government officials, accompanied by the Sindh police, marked these locations, asking the residents to clear out the buildings or else they would lose their belongings. In total, Soch Fact Check identified 13 buildings marked for demolition which should not have been, according to the Geo News Report.
Emran Baluch, Advocate of the Sindh High Court, shared this post on Facebook on 24 July 2024, which shows police officers and government officials marking the Syed Hashmi Reference Library. The caption says:
اج پھر سندھ گورنمنٹ کے بدمعاش ملیر ایکسپریس وے والے سید ھاشمی ریفرنس لائبریری کو مارک کرکے اور دھمکیاں دے کر چلے گئے کہ ایک ھفتے کے اندر جگہ خالی کردو ورنہ کتابوں کے ساتھ لائبریری کو گرادینگے۔
[Translation: Today again the goons of the Sindh government, Malir Expressway, marked the Syed Hashmi Reference Library and threatened to vacate the space within a week, otherwise they will destroy the library with books.]
Dawn also reported in June 2024, on the library’s expected demolition for the Malir Expressway project. Earlier in 2022, a group of environmental experts, wildlife photographers, and environmental activists recorded their condemnation of the project. They claimed that there are at least 12 species of reptiles in this ecosystem. This region also includes several agricultural patches and tubewells. Soch Vidoes has comprehensively documented the environmental costs of this project in this video, which further disproves government claims regarding environmental safety.
In April 2023, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was earlier funding the construction of the Malir Expressway, rescinded funds and logistical support after locals complained to the bank through lawyer and activist Abira Ashfaque.
In early March 2023, a meeting was convened to evaluate the ADB’s engagement portfolio in Sindh. The letter highlighted that there were extensive discussions with a particular focus on climate change risks. “The Government of Sindh as an ADB partner understands the importance ADB attaches to addressing climate change risk,” the letter stated, adding that, with these developments, the “Malir Expressway project has been taken off the priority lists for funding through ADB resources.” This move disproves the government’s claims regarding the potential environmental impact of the project.
Virality
Geo News Urdu’s post on Facebook was viewed more than 16,000 times and received more than 330 interactions.
Conclusion: According to research by the Women’s Democratic Front, the Malir Expressway will result in the demolition of around 3,000 buildings, displacing around 5,000 families. Soch Fact Check identified 13 such buildings. Contrary to government officials’ statements, this project may also incurs hefty environmental costs.
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Background image in cover photo: Dawn
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