HYDERABAD: Activists of many nationalist and progressive parties on Saturday brought out a ‘peace rally’ over deteriorating law and order situation and increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom in Sindh, as well as failure of security agencies in tracing out Priya Kumari and taking to task killers of journalist Jan Mohammad Mahar and other respectable citizens.

The rally started from the Old Campus locality and culminated outside the local press club.

The participating parties included Awami Tehreek (AT), Awami Workers Party (AWP), Sindh United Party (SUP), Awami Jamhoori Party (AJP), National Party (NP), Watan Dost Jamhoori Party (WDJP) and Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP).

The rally passed through Risala Road and Hyder Chowk before reaching its culminating point.

The participants were carrying flags of their respective parties and placards and banners inscribed with slogans against lawlessness. They raised slogans against ‘dacoit Raj’ on Sindh and kidnapping for ransom, which they lamented, had become order of the day in upper Sindh districts.

Bilawal urged to answer his own question about source of such supplies; feudal lords associated with PPP accused of patronising gangs

AT president Lal Jarwar condemned Sindh government for “handing over Sindh to dacoits”. He claimed that influential feudal lords and tribal heads associated with the PPP were patronising dacoit gangs, which were kidnapping people and collecting ransom money to the tune of millions of rupees.

AJP leader Syed Lal Shah alleged that after handing over Sindh to dacoits, Sindh’s resources, including its lands, were being usurped. He recalled that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had recently raised the question that “who is providing Nato’s sophisticated weapons to dacoits?” Mr Shah said people wanted answer to this question from Bilawal himself. He noted that this type of lawlessness had poisoned life of people in Sindh.

NP’s Sindh President Taj Marri said that dacoits had created ‘a state within a state’ and were challenging writ of the state. Despite this lawlessness, no effective operation was being launched against outlaws, he wondered, and claimed that waderas, jagirdars and administration were colluding with each other to let dacoits establish and perpetuate their rule.

AWP leader Latif Leghari told the protesters that the situation where outlaws were using Nato weapons warranted a forceful operation against them. Besides, he added, an investigation should be conducted to ascertain source of such weapon supplies to outlaws and the culprits must be brought to justice.

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CPP Sindh General Secretary Comrade Iqbal demanded that Priya Kumari (who had gone missing in Aug 2021 while she was about seven-year-old and believed to have been kidnapped) should be traced out without further delay and reunited with her family. He stressed that all other men, women and children held hostage by dacoit gangs in Sindh must be recovered immediately.

WDJP leader Arz Mohammad deplored that people like Prof Ajmal Sawand, journalist Jan Mohammad Mahar, schoolteacher Allah Rakhio Nandwani and activist Hidayat Lohar were murdered but none of their killers could be arrested.

Writer and analyst Jami Chandio said that Sindh had once been regarded as ‘the land of peace’ but under a planned conspiracy its peace was destroyed. Sindhiani Tehreek President Umra Samoo, AT Secretary General Noor Katiar, Dr Badar Channa, Naimat Khuhro and Fahim Noonari also spoke at the rally.

They were of concerted view that PPP was ruling over Sindh for the last 16 years and pushed the province into primitive era. They added that the Irsa Act was amended “to commit robbery on Sindh’s water share”.

The speakers demanded formation of a judicial commission headed by serving Supreme Court judge to expose facilitators of dacoits and identify those supplying Nato weapons to them.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024