‘Land Mafia’ Killing Exposes Dark Underbelly of Pakistan's Property Boom
- Property prices are estimated to have doubled since 2011
- Karachi has an annual housing deficit of at least 60,000 units
A top view of city's residential area in Karachi, Pakistan on Wednesday, Aug 23, 2017.
Photographer: Asim Hafeez/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Perween Rahman was returning home one evening in March 2013 from her job as head of the Orangi Pilot Project, which for years has pushed land title claims for Karachi’s poor, when she was shot three times by a gunman on a motorcycle.
Rahman died as she was rushed to hospital by her friend and colleague Anwar Rashid. “He was a sharp shooter,” said Rashid, now 71 years old and white-haired, but still a director of the OPP, pointing to his throat and chest to indicate where Rahman was hit. “This is because of the land -- the police, the mafia, all involved.”