More Than 50 Organizations Demand Immediate Withdrawal of Eviction Notices Served on Punjab's Tenant Farmers

1 July 2026 - Press Club, Lahore - Crofter Foundation and Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee gathered more than 50 organizations representing farmers, workers, women, youth, civil society, and human rights groups have called on the Government of Punjab to immediately withdraw the eviction notices issued to tenant farmers (mazareen) in Sahiwal, grant them ownership rights over the land they have cultivated for generations, and halt all attempts to dispossess farming communities under the guise of corporate farming and development projects.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Lahore Press Club on 1 July, Tariq Mahmood (President, Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee), Riffat Maqsood (General Secretary, Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee), Farooq Tariq (Executive Committee Member, Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee), Qammar Abbas (Joint Secretary, Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee), Hasnain Jamil Fareedi (Information Secretary, Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee), Mehr Ghulam Abbas Sial (President, Anjuman Mazareen Punjab), Muhammad Akhlaq (General Secretary, Anjuman Mazareen Punjab), and Iram Kashif of the Women Action Forum demanded the immediate withdrawal of the eviction notices, recognition of tenant farmers' ownership rights, and an end to efforts aimed at acquiring agricultural land for corporate farming and housing schemes.

During the press conference, the organizations also presented a joint petition demanding the withdrawal of the eviction notices and recognition of the tenant farmers' ownership rights. The petition was signed by representatives of political parties and organizations representing farmers, workers, women, youth, and human rights activists. Signatory organizations included the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, Haqooq-e-Khalq Party, Khalq Youth Front, Women Action Forum, Tameer-e-Nau Women Workers Organization, Awami Huqooq Tehreek, Labour Education Foundation, Joint Action Committee for People's Rights, South Asia Partnership Pakistan, Pakistan Labour Qaumi Movement, and more than 40 other organizations.

Speakers emphasized that this broad coalition reflects a growing national consensus that protecting the rights of tenant farmers is not merely an agricultural issue but a matter of social justice, democracy, and human rights. They urged the government to adopt an immediate, fair, and sustainable solution.

Mehr Ghulam Abbas Sial, President of Anjuman Mazareen Punjab, said that the eviction notices issued to tenant farmers, particularly in Village 9-L (90/92) of Sahiwal District, are deeply alarming. Approximately 250 acres of agricultural land in the village have been continuously cultivated by farming families since 1914. What began with 20 families has now grown into a community of 105 families comprising nearly 3,000 people, whose homes, livelihoods, and social lives are entirely dependent on this land.

Muhammad Akhlaq, General Secretary of Anjuman Mazareen Punjab, stated that officials, including the Deputy Commissioner, recently visited the village, marked the land with red flags, and informed residents that it would soon be vacated under the Green Pakistan Initiative and the proposed Ashiana Housing Scheme. According to the farmers, they were told that the operation was being carried out on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

Tariq Mahmood, President of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, said that these actions amount to the displacement of entire communities that have cultivated, protected, and developed these lands over generations. He warned that if the land is taken away, thousands of people will lose not only their homes but also their sole source of livelihood. Women, children, elderly people, and agricultural workers would bear the greatest burden, while rural communities would be fragmented, food security weakened, and poverty further intensified.

Riffat Maqsood, General Secretary of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, criticized policies that transfer fertile agricultural land to corporate projects, foreign companies, and housing schemes in the name of development. She said that the attempt to acquire tenant farmers' land in Sahiwal for the Ashiana Housing Scheme constitutes a serious violation of farmers' fundamental rights.

Farooq Tariq, Executive Committee Member of the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee, said that Pakistan's Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to dignity, livelihood, and economic security. Pakistan is also a party to international human rights treaties that recognize adequate housing, food, livelihood, and protection from forced eviction as fundamental human rights. He stressed that development cannot come at the cost of dispossessing those who have nurtured and cultivated the land for generations.

Iram Kashif of the Women Action Forum highlighted that women and children suffer the most from forced evictions. She called upon the government to recognize the historical, legal, and moral rights of tenant farmers by transferring ownership of the land to them and ensuring that no development project proceeds without transparent consultation, full compliance with legal requirements, and the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.

The organizations jointly demanded that:

• All eviction notices issued to tenant farmers in Village 9-L (90/92) of Sahiwal District and other affected areas be withdrawn immediately.

• The Government of Punjab immediately halt all forced evictions and land acquisition carried out in the name of the Green Pakistan Initiative, the Ashiana Housing Scheme, or any other development project until the rights of affected tenant farmers are fully recognized and protected.

• Permanent ownership rights be granted to all tenant farmers who have cultivated these lands for generations.

• The Government of Punjab formally recognize the historical, legal, and moral ownership claims of settled farming communities and transfer ownership of the land to them.

• No land acquisition or eviction take place without transparent consultation, full compliance with legal safeguards, and the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.

• The Chief of Army Staff, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the Chief Minister of Punjab immediately intervene to protect tenant farmers from forced eviction and ensure recognition of their land rights.

The press conference concluded with the Pakistan Kissan Rabta Committee and Anjuman Mazareen Punjab reaffirming their solidarity with tenant farmers across Punjab. They urged the federal and provincial governments to uphold justice by recognizing the rights of tenant farmers, granting them ownership of the land they have cultivated for generations, and immediately ending all forced evictions.

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