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| March 15, 2002 | Friday | Zilhaj 30, 1422 |
Protest rallies against Thal canal held: Eight PPP activists injured in Sukkur
SUKKUR, March 14: Eight workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party were injured when police resorted to tear-gas, baton charge, and aerial firing against the protesters on Thursday.
The PPP workers were protesting against the greater Thal canal project at Lab-e-Mehran, Sukkur.
Over 50 workers of the PPP including former provincial minister Mir Manzoor Khan Panhwer, Dr. Sohrab Sarki, Dr. Nasrullah Baloch, Mushtaq Surhio and Shoukat Ali were arrested.
When police house arrested Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, hundreds of workers of the party who had assembled there for a rally, took to the streets, raised slogans against the government, and succeeded in reaching Lab-e-Mehran around 7:30pm, the main venue where the processions from all over Sindh were supposed to converge.
The ASP on duty asked the protesters to disperse peacefully but the leadership of the PPP refused to do so and blocked the highway and pelted stones on the police party.
The police resorted to baton charge and also used tear-gas. A tear-gas shell hit an activist, Shoukat Ali Burro, and Najeeb Domki, a leader of the SPSF. Both were injured.
According to PPP sources, Naveed Soomro, Imtiaz Shaikh, M. Ali Choohan, Shabbir Shah, Shahnaz Shah and Mumtaz Abro were injured due to shelling and baton charge.
Eyewitnesses said that the police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the mob.
Hide and seek was continuing till the filing of this report.
HYDERABAD: The leaders of various political and nationalist parties, growers, workers, women organizations, and NGOs termed the construction of the greater Thal canal a conspiracy to destroy Sindh and disintegrate Pakistan.
They said this while speaking at a protest rally outside the press club on Thursday.
The rally was sponsored by the Sindh National Council against the Thal canal.
A large number of activists of the PPP, who had earlier gathered at the Haider Chowk to receive the caravan of the PPP from Karachi, also joined the rally.
The PPP rally, which according to schedule was supposed to arrive at Sukkur from Karachi, had been stopped by the authorities concerned on the outskirts of Karachi and its high command was detained.
Central leader of the PPP, Maula Bux Chandio said that the construction of the Thal canal was “a matter of life and death for Sindh” and all the people of the province were united against the project.
He said that the Sindh government, including the governor, was “inefficient”, and added that the PPP would support every party which was against the construction of the Thal canal.
The rally adopted a declaration against dams and Thal canal, which was read by Punhal Sario.
It said: The people of Sindh are of the firm opinion that the construction of the Kalabagh Dam and the Thal flood water canal, including a chain of four dams — Sanjawal, Akhori, Bhatkar, and Dhok Pathan — which would be filled from the Tarbela dam through tunnelled link canals are in violation of principle No 10 of the Rio Declaration World Summit held in 1992 on Environment and Development of which Pakistan is a signatory.”
It provides a general goal for protecting people from any kind of discrimination and endangering the environmental and ecological balance.
KOTRI: A big rally was also taken out in Kotri town by the PPP against the construction of the Thal canal.
It was led by Pir Zaman Shah Jeelani and Rafique Ahmed Jamali.
The participants of the rally marched upto the National Highway where they held a protest demonstration.
LARKANA: The Larkana police foiled the plans of hundreds of workers of the PPP to reach Sukkur and attend the rally against the greater Thal canal.
The police erected barricades and cordoned off several areas in Larkana city, Naudero and some other areas of the district and arrested at least ten activists of the PPP.
MIRPURKHAS: A caravan of the PPP, Mirpurkhas District, comprising about 110 vehicles, was stopped by the police at the West Jamrao branch bridge on Hyderabad road on Thursday while on its way to Bhitshah to join the protest rally of the PPP.
They were led by Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani.
They stayed there for an hour in protest and later returned to Mirpurkhas town.
NAWABSHAH: The activists of the PPP took out a protest rally from Nawabshah against the construction of the greater Thal canal.
The protesters reached Sakrand around 3pm and blocked the National Highway.
They raised slogans against the construction of the Thal canal.
Heavy police force was deployed on the highway at Sakrand, Qazi Ahmed and Daulatpur to control the situation.
DADU: A large number of workers of the PPP took out a protest rally against the construction of the greater Thal canal.
They were led by Rashida Panhwar, president of the PPP ladies wing, Dadu District, Kulsoom Chandio, Qambar Ali Khan Laghari and Ghulam Shabbir Abro.
Talking to newsmen, Ms Panhwar said the rally was stopped by the police when it reached the Dadu-Moro bridge.
THATTA: The workers of the PPP could not hold a protest rally against the Thal canal in Thatta city on Thursday as they were stopped by the police.
KHAIRPUR: PPP activists protested on Thursday against the arrest of PPP leader Manzoor Hussain Wassan in Khairpur District.
The main procession was taken out in Khairpur. It was led by Manzoor Brohi and the president, SPSF, Khairpur, Raza Wassan.
The activists marched through the city and staged a sit-in at Punj Gula Chowk.
Some activists set on fire tyres on the Mall Road in front of the Law College.
Police removed the flags of the PPP, chairs, and other stage props from the Sachal gate on the National Highway in Ranipur, where the main procession was supposed to start.
Meanwhile, the B-section police arrested PPP leaders, Naeem Kharal and Syed Javed Shah, on the National Highway at Shah Hussain.
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