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HYDERABAD, Nov 27: The Sindh National Council (SNC) has termed the promulgation of ordinances after restoration of democracy a direct interference in democratic process.
The party also severely criticized the recent amendments to the Anti- Terrorism Act and said it was a flagrant violation of human rights as an innocent person, under the said amendment, could be detained for a year without a trial.
At a meeting held here on Sunday and presided over by Hussain Bux Thebo, the SNC deplored tens of thousands of acres of Sindh land had been handed over to the retired and in-service army personnel, bureaucrats, artistes and sportsmen.
Expressing grave concern over rampant lawlessness in Sindh, the meeting opined an anti-Sindh mafia was involved in the incidents of kidnapping, highway robberies, dacoities and terrorism.
The meeting was highly critical of the kidnappings of non-Muslims from Khoski, Nawabshah, Daharki and Berani and said it was a conspiracy to force the non-Muslims to migrate.
It condemned the torture of an assistant Mukhtiarkar in Sujawal by the Naval Task Force and said the event spoke volumes about the indiscipline, prevailing in the armed forces.
Expressing concern over closure of sugar mills in the province, the meeting said on the one hand, the sugarcane crop had been partially destroyed due to acute shortage of water, and on the other, the growers were being made to suffer huge losses due to the inordinate delay in sugarcane crushing season by the sugar mills.
The meeting decided to observe the human rights day on Dec 10 at the Karachi Press Club and to invite Afrasyab Khatak to speak on the occasion.
SYMPOSIUM:The speakers at a symposium here on Monday urged the newly-elected members of the assemblies to legislate to protect the women’s rights.
The symposium, held to mark the International day against violence to women, was organized by the Citizen Action Committee for Women Rights at the office of the Aurat Foundation.
The speakers included Ishrat Fatima, Zaibun Nisa Mallah, Zulfikar Halepoto, Dr Naseem, Saleem Channa and others.
They said that the women must enjoy equal rights and should be respected.
Stressing the need for spreading awareness about women’s rights among the people, they said that the women deserved special place in the society as they were working in almost all the fields with the men.
The speakers emphasized that the root cause of violence against women was the lack of education and added that the women were subjected to violence by the men mostly on flimsy excuses and personal whims .
They observed that apart from NGOs, the government should also take initiatives for giving equal rights to women and for providing them protection.
They expressed hope that the newly-elected members of the assemblies would try their best to legislate for protection of the women.
