SUKKUR: Awami Teh-reek leaders have condemned what they see as government’s support for bandits as they are kidnapping innocent people with complete impunity, subjecting them to brutal torture and demanding huge ransom for their release while government authorities look the other way.

The bandits were easily getting NATO-smuggled weapons but “instead of taking action against dacoits, the government is providing them with facilities,” said the leaders at a conference on “Save Lands and Resources of Sindh” in Tangwani town, Kashmore-Kandhkot district, on Saturday.

According to a press release, the party’s central organiser Vasand Thari, central leader Noor Ahmed Katiar, newly-elected district president of the party Asif Khoso, Mansoor Bapar, Ghulam Ali Dahani, Pyaro Bapar and Niaz Lashari, voiced serious concern over increasing lawlessness and bandit rule in Sindh.

They condemned what they saw as government’s support for bandits, alleging that NATO-smuggled weapons were being supplied to these criminals. “Instead of taking action against dacoits, the government is providing them with facilities,” they claimed.

They criticised federal government for weakening the federation through undemocratic decisions, particularly the unconstitutional amendment to the Irsa Act, auction of Sindh’s lands in the name of corporate farming and the formation of the SIFC, which they described as a conspiracy against the integrity of Pakistan.

They said that auctioning of national resources and lands would not lead to sustainable development but would instead create and increase unemployment, poverty, hunger and other social issues.

“The foundation of extremism in Pakistan was laid in the country when Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s historic speech of Aug 11 was ignored. Gen Ziaul Haq further sowed the seeds of extremism for his personal gains, and the country has since not been able to recover,” said Vasand Thari.

He criticised the government for providing extremists with unchecked power under official patronage, which had contributed to rising violence and insecurity in the country.

The leaders called for high-level judicial inquiry into extrajudicial killing of Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar. “The officers responsible for his death are still walking free, and this is an insult to the judiciary,” said Noor Ahmad Katiar, demanding that a judicial commission be established to investigate both the murder and the broader issue of government sponsorship of bandits.

They urged the government to conduct effective operation against these bandits, disarm them, and take strict legal action against anti-national elements who were supplying arms and training to them.

The conference also called for the protection of Sindh’s lands and resources, stating that the ongoing exploitation was undermining the region’s future.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2024