HYDERABAD, Feb 12: The Awami Tehreek (AT) on Tuesday announced that a ‘Love Sindh’ rally would be taken out from Hyderabad on Feb 16 and continued till Feb 19 to press the government to adhere to the Supreme Court orders regarding delimitation in Karachi and verification of the voters lists under the supervision of the army, as well as to repeal the controversial local government law.

Speaking at a press conference at the Palijo House, Qasimabad, AT senior vice president Abdul Qadir Ranto said that participants in the four-day rally would march through the streets of Hyderabad and several other towns over the four days.

He also announced that his party had decided to change its name to the ‘Qaumi Awami Tehreek’ and adopted the new name with immediate effect. The formal and legal procedures in this regard were yet to be completed, he said, adding that the decision was taken at the two-day meeting of the party’s executive committee held recently.

He called for immediate setting up of a caretaker government and announcement of a schedule for the general elections in the country. He said his party fully supported the demand for the removal of all incumbent governors.

Mr Ranto also declared that AT chief Ayaz Latif Palijo would contest for the PS-47 Qasimabad seat while 38 other candidates — 27 for the National Assembly and 11 for the Sindh Assembly — would be fielded in the elections.

He severely criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for ‘poor governance’ and claimed that while Karachi continued to bleed, the rural areas of Sindh stayed in full control of feudal lords and other influential people during the PPP-led government.

He also condemned continued killing of Sindhi women in the name of honour and conversion of Hindu girls through marriages.

The AT leader said his party believed that the PPP-led government was responsible for the plight of hundreds of thousands of people hit by natural disasters over the past few years, adding that poor management and corruption resulted in the government’s failure to save and rehabilitate the affected population.

Mr Ranto said that the PPP with the help of its ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, imposed the Sindh People’s Local Government Act to divide the province and prolong its rule over the country.

Coupled with the Zulfikarabad city project, the SPLGA was aimed at creating an Israel-like region within Sindh, he claimed, and added that imperialist forces would control the entire region from their Karachi-Zulfikarabad centre.

Syed Alam Shah, Advocate Abrar Abro, Noor Ahmed Kathiar, Roshan Birahmani and other AT leaders, as well as head of the Sindhyani Tehreek Ummrah Samoon were also present at the press conference.