More than 400 shops, markets and other illegal structures have been demolished along the Peshawar Ring Road. The grand operation against encroachments entered its sixth consecutive day on Friday.
The drive is being carried out on the directives of Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Afaq Wazir. The district administration says the goal is to reclaim government land and improve traffic flow in the provincial capital.
Peshawar Ring Road encroachment: the operation so far
The operation covers several stretches of the Ring Road and adjoining areas. Teams have worked in Garhi Qamar Din, near the toll plaza, Jamil Chowk, Pir Zakori Flyover and Pishtakhara Chowk.
Heavy machinery is demolishing structures built on public land. Personnel from the Peshawar Development Authority and other departments are taking part in the joint operation under the district administration’s supervision.
Officials say the coordinated drive will widen the Ring Road and adjoining roads. It should ease the movement of traffic and reduce the daily difficulties faced by commuters.
The administration has targeted a range of unauthorised constructions, mostly shops and small markets that had crept onto government land over the years.
The other side: landowners push back
The operation has not gone unchallenged. The Ring Road Landowners Association held a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club this week, alleging that shops on privately owned land were being demolished in the name of removing encroachments.
The association’s office-bearers, including Zafar Shinwari and Haji Shafaat Khan, said the affected families held revenue records proving ownership. They claimed their families owned the land long before the Ring Road was built.
The landowners said they had produced court orders during the operation, but their appeals went unheeded. They warned the demolitions would render thousands jobless and appealed to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to intervene.
The governor, for his part, has vowed to extend anti-encroachment operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The clash between the administration’s reclaim drive and the landowners’ property claims is now the central tension in the campaign.
A wider civic enforcement push
Peshawar’s drive fits a broader pattern of civic enforcement across Pakistan’s cities. In the capital region, the CDA recovered land in Malpur along Murree Road. Rawalpindi cracked down on dumping along Nullah Leh. Karachi set up garbage transfer stations to clean up its waste flow.
The question in each case is the same: where does legitimate enforcement end and the destruction of livelihoods begin. In Peshawar, the administration insists it is clearing only government land. The landowners insist the records say otherwise.
The operation continues. The deputy commissioner has said no illegal structure will be spared along the Ring Road and adjoining areas.
Frequently asked questions
How many structures have been demolished?
More than 400 shops, markets and other illegal structures have been razed along Peshawar’s Ring Road and adjoining areas.
Who ordered the operation?
Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Afaq Wazir directed the drive, which is being executed jointly by the district administration and the Peshawar Development Authority.
Which areas are covered?
Garhi Qamar Din, the toll plaza area, Jamil Chowk, Pir Zakori Flyover and Pishtakhara Chowk, among others along the Ring Road.
What do the landowners say?
The Ring Road Landowners Association claims shops on privately owned land with revenue records were demolished, and it has appealed to the governor to stop the operation.
