ISLAMABAD, June 23: The representatives of Anjuman Mazarain Punjab (AMP) and People’s Rights Movement (PRM) on Monday met Federal Minister for Information Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and demanded immediate withdrawal of Rangers from Okara military farms.

According to a press release, the delegation comprising of AMP chairman Liaquat Ali, president Khushi Dola, general secretary Shagufta Zafar and PRM activist Bashir Buter informed the minister about the latest developments at the farms.

They said the government had a responsibility to uphold basic norms of law and democracy rather than protecting state functionaries who they alleged were guilty.

The minister was provided with copies of a number of notifications and correspondences showing that the Punjab government owned the disputed land of Okara military farms and the military had no legal or moral right to alter the tenancy status of the residents.

It was also pointed out to the minister that a number of criminal cases were being lodged against the AMP activists which was tantamount to political victimization.

During the meeting, a special reference was made to the visit of PML-Q parliamentarian Kashmala Tariq to the farms where she downplayed the tenant movement, saying that it was the creation of anti-state elements outside Okara.

They criticized Ms Kashmala’s apathy about the tenants’ problems and said people belonging to the ruling coalition were continuing to engage in such irresponsible and partisan behaviour.

However, the statement said the minister only made a general commitment to the tenants, saying that he would raise the problem with President Gen Pervez Musharraf on his return to the country.

The AMP activists said, “as information minister, Sheikh Rashid had the responsibility to ensure that the state was not spewing out irresponsible rhetoric to misrepresent the situation.”

However, the minister was unwilling to make any commitment in this regard, they added.

The delegation told the minister that the tenant movement would continue unabated and there would be no let-up in the resistance.

They said the movement was indigenous and no outside party had any defining role to play. “The state should stop trying to depict the conflict as one that is created by outsiders. Instead, the government should live up to its responsibility and stop protecting the illegal and immoral stance of the Rangers,” they added.