KARACHI: Joint drive against dictatorship stressed
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 18: Mir Hasil Bizenjo, General-Secretary of the National Party who had remained unaccounted for reportedly after unveiling the November 15 protest in Gwadar and reappeared in Karachi on the following day, briefed newsmen about his ordeal and urged opposition forces to quit assemblies and launch a mass mobilisation campaign to rid the country of dictatorship.
“Time has come for all democratic forces to join hands to rid the country of the dictatorial regime of General Pervez Musharraf,” he stressed, adding that his party had already launched its mass mobilisation campaign by holding peaceful rallies and demonstrations.
Mir Bizenjo said his party had planned hunger strikes and processions against rulers’ anti-people policies in the second round of its struggle.
About General Musharraf’s Nov 15 visit to Gwadar, he said that according to his information, up to Rs1 billion had been spent on the security of the general in that port town where he was to inaugurate a five-start hotel. The town had remained under siege of security forces for three days and three helicopters had been employed to monitor the ground situation, he claimed.
Narrating his Nov 15 ordeal, he said that he, along with his party colleague, Mulla Burkat, was picked up by secret agencies from Dashti House where he was staying after arrival in Gwadar that day. After attending a party meeting and an all-parties conference to review the arrangements for a protest rally, he and Mulla Burkat returned to Dashti House. “At about mid-night, DSP Gwadar, accompanied by security personnel in civvies laid a siege of the house and told both of us that they were are arrest,” Mir Bizenjo stated. He said that the security personnel, who refused to produce arrest warrant, drove them to the Gwadar police lock-up where they were not allowed to sleep.
Later, in the afternoon, they took us to an unknown place and despite repeated queries, we were not informed about the destination. Mir Bizenjo said that the situation became clear only when the vehicle arrived in Lasbela and headed for Karachi. “We were set free in Karachi at around 3.30am on Nov 16.”
