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KHIPRO (Sanghar), May 27: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan at the Hari-Labour Convention held here on Sunday decided to form the People’s Water Commission (PWC) to discuss water issue in the country in order to address water-related problems of each province.
The HRCP asked the rulers to correct their priorities with regard to peasants. It also severely criticized the judiciary for not coming up to the expectations of people.
Referring to serious differences among the provinces on prolonged water shortage, chairperson of the HRCP, Afrasyab Khatak, announced that the commission had decided to form the PWC, comprising journalists, intellectuals and retired member of judiciary from each province to address the water issue in the light of facts and figures.
He said that Sindh province had full rights over waters of River Indus.
Mr Khatak said that neither India nor Pakistan could afford war because poverty was their common enemy.
He asked the army to return to barracks and transfer power to elected people as it was the need of the hour.
The UN special representative on Human Rights and former HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir severely criticized a recent verdict of the Sindh High Court in a matter of bonded labour. She said that the HRCP would knock at the door of superior judiciary in this regard.
Director, HRCP, I.A. Rehman, Sindh HRCP’s vice chairman, Ali Hassan, council members, Comrade Jam Saqi, Rochi Ram, Aftab Ahmed and others also spoke on the occasion.
Calling for Special Courts of haris, they said that despite the existing Tenancy Tribunals under Sindh Tenancy Act not a single decision was given by them.
RESOLUTIONS: The second “Hari-Mazdoor” Convention of the HRCP adopted several resolutions, expressing grave concern on bottlenecks in the judicial system coupled with the fact that it had become impossible for the haris to get justice from the courts of law.
It said that the haris did not have enough money to engage prominent lawyers to fight their cases whereas judges, often, gave anti-hari decisions which was evident from what the resolution termed “disappointing” SHC judgment in constitutional petitions, regarding bonded labour.
The convention called for implementation of Bonded Labour Abolition (System) Act in letter and spirit in order to rid people of forced labour.
The convention expressed grave concern over water shortage in Sindh and stressed the need for judicious distribution of water. It said that water should be released to canals as per already decided schedule.
The convention called for a special package for those areas where the growers did not receive even single drop of water for past several years, rendering their lands barren.
The resolution also called for interest-free loans for peasants to enable them to make both ends meet.
The convention demanded of the government to ensure restoration of rights to labourers and implementation of labour laws.
It felt that labourers were not getting sufficient wages and demanded that the government must put an end to contract system in industrial units and facilitate labourers in forming unions.
Deploring the fact that usually lands unsuitable for cultivation were allotted to haris, the convention demanded allotment of lands to liberated peasants.
It also demanded that haris must be issued NICs, agricultural development bank must provide loans to haris, peasants be provided medical facilities from social welfare department and necessary amendments should be made in Sindh Tenancy Act.
