THATTA, March 25: A complete strike was observed across Thatta district and a procession was taken out in Pano Akil on Sunday to condemn death threats given to two women MPAs.

Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palijo and MPA Rai Naz Bozdar have received letters asking them to leave Karachi or face death.

The letters, issued by so-called ‘Muhajir Province Liberation Army’ were delivered at their residences through courier services.

The strike was observed in Thatta, Makli, Gharo, Mirpur Sakro, Gujjo and Dhabeji and other towns in the district. Main commercial centres, shops and different factories remained closed.

Activists of Pakistan People’s Party, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and other nationalist parties took to the streets and burnt tyres on roads resulting in suspension of traffic on the National Highway and other roads. The protesters were wearing black armbands.

Ms Sassui told Dawn that the letter she had received on March 24 contained threats and was a reaction to the adoption of a resolution in Sindh Assembly on March 9 against any move aimed at dividing Sindh.

She said she was also receiving threatening emails and text messages on her personnel mobile phone.

Sindh, she added, had a history, culture, heritage and distinct territorial boundaries which would remain intact and all conspiracies to divide the province would foil.

Talking to reporters at the Sindh museum in Hyderabad, Ms Sassui Palijo said: “We will never be intimidated by a handful of disgruntled people.”

Ms Palijo said she had received her education in Karachi and had been living there for a long time. Sindh belongs to all the people living in the province and Karachi is also a city of all the people.

She said she had passed on the threatening letter to the chief minister who had directed police and other law-enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.

She said that Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan had also been informed about the threats.

She said MQM had repeatedly declared that it was against division of Sindh. She said that during the days of General Zia the issue of Jinnahpur had been raised to fuel ethnic riots in the province. But the people of Sindh will unite to thwart all such conspiracies.

Pano Akil protest

Thousands of people, including activists of political parties, traders and social welfare organisations took out a procession and demonstrated in front of the press club in Pano Akil for several hours.

They were protesting against a similar threatening letter received by MPA Rai Naz Bozdar. The procession from Bozdar House marched to the Shah Latif Chowk.

Speaking on the occasion, former MPA Ghulam Mustafa Bozdar, local PPP leader Rasheed Korai and presidents and general secretaries of different trade organisations, said the elected representatives of Sindh were being threatened by a political party.

But they said they were not afraid of such threats because PPP members and its leaders had faced many such problems in the past and also sacrificed their lives.

They said they would retaliate if elected representatives, including Rai Naz Bozdar, Sassui Palijo and Shazia Mari, were harmed in any manner.

MPA Rai Naz told Dawn from Karachi on phone that she had received the threatening letter through a courier service.

She said that the letter was written by one Tipu Sultan, chief of the so-called “Mohajir Province Liberation Army” and sender’s address was Liaquatabad, Karachi.

She said that contents of the letter show the sender had information about her and members of her family and warned her of dire consequences if she did not leave Karachi.

Ms Rai Naz said she would not hesitate to sacrifice her life for the cause of Sindh and Sindhi people. She said PPP leaders had always sacrificed their lives for the cause of people and she was ready to follow them.