HYDERABAD, Oct 24: Rights activists marched from the old campus of Sindh University to the press club here on Sunday in protest against the kidnapping of a newly-wed woman and the decision of a jirga to bury her and her husband alive for getting married on their own free will.

Parveen Mahar, daughter of Ali Mohammad Mahar of the village of Khawand Bux Mahar in Ghotki district, had eloped with Riaz Mahar, son of Karim Bux Mahar of the village of Ghurio Mahar, last month. The two got married in a civil court.

According to reports, Parveen was kidnapped Parveen from the house of a relative of her husband in a village in the Thehri area in Khairpur district on Friday. The kidnappers took her to the residence of the chief of Mahar tribe, Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar, in Khangarh to decide her fate.

Dr Ashu Thama of the HRCP called upon the government to take notice of the incident and urged MNAs and MPAs from Ghotki district to save the life of Parveen.

Executive director of the Association for Betterment and Development of Human Being Rafia Bangash said they would resist any decision by jirgas constituted under the outdated feudal system.

She said that NGO activists would stage a march from Hyderabad to the village of Parveen Mahar on Monday to ensure that she received justice.

Advocate K.B. Laghari said that a petition would be filed in the Sindh High Court on the matter.

More than six NGOs participated in the protest.

TERRORISM: People in authority have been unable to rein in terrorists and they rely on the US and imperialist forces to save Pakistan.

This was stated by secretary-general of the Majlis-i-Wehdat Al Muslimeen Allama Nasir Abbas Jafri at a news conference here on Sunday.

He said his organisation had decided to unite people of all schools of thought, from Khyber to Karachi, to protect people and save the country from terrorists.

He said that while devastating floods had rendered millions of people homeless, terrorists had become a challenge to the existence the country.

Blood of innocent people was being shed from Karachi to Khyber but the government was doing nothing, Allama Jafri said, adding that the terrorists were enemies of humanity.

He said that the common man was aware of these problems, but the authorities appeared to be unconcerned about the plight of the poor people of Pakistan.