HYDERABAD, Jan 11: The Jamiat Ulema-i- Islam (JUI) on Friday held protest rallies at various district headquarters of Sindh against increasing acts of terrorism, price hike, flour and water shortages and load-shedding.

In Hyderabad, JUI leaders Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahiyoon, Hafiz Khalid Hassan Dhamrah, Mohammad Azam Jehangiri, Maulana Ziaur Rehman Tahir and Shabbir Ahmed Jamali led the rally.

Speaking on the occasion, they said that Musharraf government had given nothing to the people except murders, sky rocketing prices of consumer goods and bomb blasts. They said judges, lawyers and journalists were being victimised and subjected to torture while President Musharraf was raising the slogan of enlightenment to appease United States and the people had to face power breakdowns for hours together.

They said that the people were even deprived of their staple food - wheat flour. They said that due to uncertain conditions prevailing in the country, Pakistan was in the grip of rumours. They condemned the baseless propaganda unleashed against Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The JUI-F activists also staged a protest demonstration outside Tando Mohammad Khan Press Club. Led by a JUI candidate for NA-222, Hafiz Mohammad Ibrahim Soomro, they raised slogans against the Musharraf government.

They also blocked Phulelli road for an hour and suspended vehicular traffic.

They said that the shortage of wheat flour and power and gas load-shedding had made the lives of the people miserable. They claimed that only JUI could extricate the people from the insurmountable crises.

Our Shikarpur correspondent adds, activists of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Jamat-i-Islami took out rallies here on Friday to protest against adverse law and order situation, unemployment, shortage of flour and policies of the caretakers in Sindh.

Speaking on the occasion, JUI leaders Maulana Bakhtullah Pahore, Hafiz Ubaidullah Panhwar, Jamat-i-Islami district Ameer Dr Mehmood Illahi Hakro, Maulvi Sadaruddin Mahar and others demanded of government to provide protection to the people and ensure flour in the market on government fixed rate.

They also demanded of President Musharraf to resign from his office because he had miserably failed to solve the problems of the people.

In Naushahro Feroze and Kandiaro, the activists of JUI-f staged protest demonstrations.