KARACHI, July 25: A meeting of various non-governmental organizations on Thursday criticized the atrocities being committed by the Rangers against the Okara farmers and demanded that the peasants be given their due rights.

The meeting, held to discuss the women’s rights and their role in the peasants’ movement in Okara, was organized by the Aurat Foundation.

It also decided to hold separate meetings to discuss issues relating to the Okara farmers and the proposed Shariat Bill of the NWFP.

Various speakers on the occasion criticized the role of law enforcement agencies that had laid a siege to numerous Okara villages restricting the movement of villagers.

They suggested that delegations of the people concerned and civil society organizations should visit Okara regularly to express solidarity with the farmers and to witness the situation there to help expose the negative role being played by the government machinery.

Four participants of the meeting, who had visited Okara recently, told participants that at least 11 farmers had been killed during their protest movement; a large number of fabricated cases had been instituted against numerous farmers and many of them had been put behind the bars.

They said that in this situation womenfolk had taken over the movement and were carrying out farming activities; looking after their homes and children; taking care of the sick and were following up the court cases. The women had also put up resistance when the Rangers entered into their villages, they added.

There was just one hospital in the area that too had been closed down and the villagers were informed that it would be allowed to operate only when the farmers signed a new agreement and gave up their earlier rights, they said and added that many pregnant women suffered hardships and some had even died due to the hospital’s closure.

They said the husbands of girls belonging to Okara, living in other areas after marriage, were being forced to divorce their wives if the girls’ parents (Okara farmers) did not sign the new agreement.

Other speakers said the recently-adopted resolution regarding the shariat laws in the NWFP assembly and the proposed laws, to be made in line with that, resolution would have negative impact on the masses.

They expressed their concern that the Hisba force, to be established to implement those laws, and the ombudsman of the province would be given vast powers.

The speakers feared that a parallel judicial system would be set up under these laws, which could create complications as after their implementation the NWFP and the rest of the country would be governed by different sets of laws.

Anis Haroon, Nuzhat Shirin, Uzma Noorani, Moazzam Ali, Abdul Hayee, Mangla Sharma, Amanullah, Zahid Farooq, Latif Mughal, Manzoor Badayuni and others also spoke on the occasion.

Representatives of various NGOs including the Shirkatgah, Women Action Forum, War Against Rape, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Urban Resource Centre, Orangi Pilot Project, Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, Church World Service also attended the meeting.