HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum threatened on Sunday to launch a province-wide movement against occupation of freshwater resources and file a petition in the Sindh High Court against DPO of Sanghar and police officers who were implicating poor fishermen in false cases to stop them from catching fish.

Addressing a press conference here, the forum’s chairman Mohammad Ali Shah and office-bearers appealed to Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman, prime minister and chief minister to protect the rights of four million fishermen of the country.

The forum’s struggle had brought an end to contract system for catching fish on Oct 22, 2007 and the government issued licences to fishermen but complications arose when the chief minister announced during June 6 budget session that the licence system was being abolished.

The forum leaders talked to Sindh Minister for Fisheries Zahid Ali Bhurgari and their meeting decided to issue cards to fishermen for catching fish named Shaheed Benazir Bhutto cards.

But the decision had not been implemented so far, leading to a vacuum, which was favourable for the former contractors and influential landlords who rushed to occupy all the sweet water lakes and ponds in connivance with police and fisheries department, they said.

They said that the influential landlords were subjecting fishermen to torture and implicating them in false cases. Citing an example, they said that a Qasim Zardari who claimed to be a close relative of Asif Zardari had occupied Chotiyari Dam with the help of his armed hoodlums.

They said that when Sanghar DPO Waliullah Dal took legal action against Qasim, he was transferred and replaced with Altaf Leghari. Former contractor Asif Nizamani and Qasim Zardari has set up check-posts with the help of DPO and their personal guards at all the paths leading to Chotiyari Dam, the forum leaders alleged.

They said that the DPO had started implicating fishermen in false cases and claimed that the DPO had pressurised chairman of the forum in a meeting to hand over Chotiyari Dam to Qasim.

The forum’s chairman said that the forum had decided to launch a movement throughout Sindh to protest against the atrocities, hold demonstrations in all the districts on Aug 19 and write letters to the PPP co-chairman urging him to solve the problems of fishermen.