NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) gave a call for a province-wide wheel-jam strike for Tuesday in protest against alleged firing by personnel of a law enforcement agency on its activists holding a sit-in here on Monday.

Six JSQM activists and the official in charge of the local CIA were wounded in the firing and admitted to a Nawabshah hospital for treatment. The victims were among the several hundred participants in the sit-in held near the Naushahro Feroze bypass along the National Highway.

JSQM chairman Sannan Qureshi and vice chairman Niaz Kalani were leading the sit-in where other central office-bearers of the party were also present. The protesters were demanding immediate release or recovery of a central JSQM leader, Kehar Ansari, who had gone missing several days ago. They believed that the victim had been picked up by some security agency.

According to Naushahro Feroze SSP Altaf Leghari, some vehicles carrying personnel of a law-enforcement agencies were stuck up in the traffic jam caused by the protesters during the course of the sit-in. He said the law-enforcers tried to convince the protesters to clear the way for their personnel carriers but before the two sides could conclude their talks, some miscreants started pelting stones at the uniformed personnel. A CIA official, Inspector Aijaz Memon, received head injury in the attack, he said.

SSP Leghari said that the unformed personnel fired into the air to scare away the unruly protesters but some of them sustained bullet wounds during the clash.

“The protesters later dispersed and no one was arrested,” he said.

The civil surgeon at the Naushaharo Feroze Civil Hospital said seven victims of the incident were brought to the hospital but all of them were referred to a Nawabshah hospital.

It is learnt that the civil hospital has been without a duty surgeon since the transfer of two surgeons to some other institutions two months ago.

The victims were later identified as Yawar Mahisar, Iqbal Gul, Inam Gul, Ghulam Nabi Rajpar, Abdul Rehman, Arshad aka Papu Channa and Inspector Aijaz Memon.

LARKANA: Condemning the firing, JSQM chairman Sannan Qureshi gave a wheel-jam strike call for Tuesday across the province.

Speaking at a hurriedly called press conference here at the Larkana Press Club hours after the incident, Mr Qureshi alleged that the law-enforcement agencies personnel resorted to straight firing on JSQM workers who were peacefully protesting at the Naushahro Feroze bypass against the disappearance several days ago of the party’s vice chairman, Kehar Ansari.

“One of the six wounded JSQM workers, Arshad aka Papu Channa, received six bullets into his abdomen and is in a precarious condition at the Nawabshah hospital,” Mr Qureshi said.

Regarding Kehar Ansari’s disappearance, the JSQM chairman claimed that he along with his party colleague Shahzad Mallah was picked up on his way to Naushahro Feroze from Padidan 10 days back. Mr Mallah was later let off but the whereabouts of Mr Ansari was still not known, he said.

Mr Qureshi also claimed that several JSQM leaders and activists had been picked up and later found killed in the past, adding that he apprehended the same fate of Mr Kehar. He appealed the international human rights organisations to take notice of such injustices.

JSQM spokesman Amjad Mahisar speaking at the press conference said that the firing on unarmed party activists was “an example of open terrorism” and a “pre-planned action”.

“The target was the the JSQM chief but his workers saved him,” he claimed. Safdar Tunio and Ashraf Kalhoro, the president and general secretary of JSQM student wing, Jeay Sindh Students Federation, respectively, and Aziz Shaikh were also present at the press conference.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2016