LAHORE: Farmers say they have no clue about the whereabouts of their 15 colleagues who, according to them, went missing after the police resorted to baton charge and shelled their protest last Wednesday and arrested around 250 farmers on Multan Road.

Malk Zulfiqar Awan, president of one wing of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, which organized the protest last Tuesday, says that two of their missing colleagues returned on Saturday, but 15 are still missing and the PKI plans to file writ for their recovery by Monday morning.

“In fact, the farmers, who were severely injured during the Wednesday mayhem – when police used the batons, water cannons and tear-gassed – were whisked away to unidentified places and are being treated before release. The farmers knew this (being kept at private police places) for the last three days and it has been confirmed by the Saturday returnees as well,” Awan told Dawn, and promise: “We will return to roads shortly. We are observing qul of the martyred leader Malik Ashfaq on Sunday (today). After that, we plan to call the meeting of the district presidents of the PKI and announce next round of protest. It is a fight for our rights and will be fought to the end.”

The police highhandedness is hard to define, says Ch Muhammad Anwer, chairman of the PKI. “We were simply demonstrating for our rights. All those who came to negotiate on behalf of the government expressed sympathy to our cause and agreed to our demand being perfectly justified revision of wheat support price to Rs2,000 per 40Kg. We were demanding just a meeting either with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar or Prime Minister Imran Khan to persuade them on the rationality of our demand. We still have not been able to comprehend why police was unleashed, and unleashed with such ferocity. Both Punjab and federal governments must remember that movements for rights cannot be controlled or killed with police force. The PKI is going to convene meetings of all district presidents to chalk out next phase of protest.”

Meanwhile, farmers’ bodies in the province, along with civil society organization, have decided to join hands with the PKI in its protest movement. “The Kissan Rabita Committee, a conglomerate of 29 farmers bodies, has convened a meeting on Tuesday to plan the joining of hands with the PKI on larger issue of wheat pricing,” says Farooq Tariq, general secretary of the committee. It is the most valid demand of the farmers and the government is not listening. “The government has killed a farmer but still it’s not listening to farmers. I have been to three districts today, attending farmers’ meeting and have seen very high level of anger among them. The soon government take notice of all four issues – pricing of wheat, killing of a farmers’ leader, quick release of those still missing and factors behind police atrocity – the better it would be. Otherwise, the farmers may return to roads with more determination and anger.”

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2020