ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: Anjuman Mazarain Punjab (AMP) on Monday asked the PPP and PML-N, the parties leading governments at the Centre and in the province, to grant proprietary rights to Okara military farms’ tenants, warning that the ‘civil disobedience’ campaign would be relaunched if the demand were not met.

AMP office-bearers along with representatives of the People’s Rights Movement (PRM) reiterated the demand at the National Press Club after meetings with Senator Raza Rabbani and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar. Dr Aasim Sajjad of PRM said popular forces including the civil society organisations had so far avoided confrontation with the elected government that was struggling with the problems inherited from the previous regime, but now that one year had passed, it was necessary to remind the PPP and PML-N of the commitments they had made to the tenants in Punjab.

When the “state repression” at Okara military farms was at its peak in 2002 and 2003, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif spoke out in favour of the tenants and promised that one of their first actions upon coming to power would be to withdraw all false criminal cases against the tenants and allot them the land they had been tilling for 100 years.

The AMP and PRM office-bearers pointed out that a year’s time was sufficient for the elected government to take the necessary measures to transfer proprietary rights to the tenants.

They said that the first stage of the tenants’ peaceful movement would begin with a big rally in Okara on April 17, which was the International Day of Peasants. After this a series of measures will be undertaken including hunger strikes, culminating in a march on Islamabad. AMP general secretary Mehr Abdul Sattar said the government should ensure the restoration of all government employees, who were relatives of tenants and were unjustly sacked. Similarly, all false cases should also be withdrawn.

AMP senior vice-president Nadeem Ashraf said it had recently come to light that approximately 2,500 acres of land was secretly transferred in the name of retired generals in Renala Estate by the Musharraf regime.

Saleem Jhakra of Kulyana Estate said tenants in Kulyana had recently joined the AMP movement after having been inspired by the struggle on Okara military farms. He said the tenants of Kulyana were subjected to the tyranny of retired military officers, who had been fleecing tenants tilling the land selflessly for the state since 1913.

Shabbir Ahmed from Stud Farm Propanabad/Boylganj (Dipalpur/Pakpattan) said the farms were under the administration of the Army Welfare Trust and, in this case too, “retired military officers have been given the license to exploit tenants”.