HYDERABAD: Nationalist parties and civil society organisations observed token hunger strikes and lawyers observed black day in several Sindh towns on Friday in response to Sindh Bar Council’s (SBC) call for protest against increasing cases of ‘enforced disappearances’ in the province.

Lawyers did not appear in Hyderabad circuit bench of Sindh High Court, civil and sessions courts and boycotted the courts’ proceedings as the judges discharged board of cases.

High Court Bar Association general secretary Ishrat Lohar said that SBC believed that cases of enforced disappearances of innocent citizens were increasing with each passing day and the victims were recovered after inordinate delay of several months.

He said that Salahuddin Khan Gandapur, vice chairman of SBC and Yasir Arafat Shar, chairman of executive committee SBC, had urged the legal fraternity as well as bar associations of the province to observe complete strike and black day on Friday.

SUKKUR: Lawyers boycotted courts and held a protest demonstration against enforced disappearances of nationalist parties’ workers.

Lawyers’ leaders said on the occasion that when a number of women held a protest and sit-in outside the press club in Karachi demanding recovery of their loved ones they were brutally tortured and dragged on roads in stark violation of human rights.

They demanded higher authorities take immediate action for the recovery of all missing persons to end unrest among their families.

Members of civil society observed token hunger strike at a camp set up outside the Sukkur Press Club. The call for protest was given by Human Rights Coordination Cell for the recovery of missing persons of Sindh.

The protesters’ leaders said that nationalist parties’ workers were being picked up and ‘disappeared’ and when their families protested they were subjected to severe torture.

They warned they would expand their protest if the missing persons were not recovered immediately.

NAUSHAHRO FEROZE: Activists of nationalist parties, including women and children, ended their 72-hour token hunger strike outside the press club. The hunger strike was staged on the call of Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh.

Tanveer Arijo, son of Khadim Hussain Arijo who was a victim of ‘enforced disappearance’ and a member of Voice for Missing Persons, reached the hunger strikers’ camp and said that his father was an innocent citizen who was branded a terrorist in an article.

He said that a young man Aqib Chandio was also picked up from hunger strikers’ camp in Larkana but they wanted to tell the authorities concerned that their struggle would not stop. They were peaceful citizens and were only demanding recovery of their loved ones who had been ‘missing’ for last 14 months.

Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) leader Dr Niaz Kalani said the protesters had shown great courage by attending hunger strike camps in such hot weather. They had no fear and now their fearlessness had frightened their tormentors, he said.

Activists of JSQM, Jeay Sindh Mahaz, Jeay Sindh Tehreek, Sindh United Party, Labour Party Pakistan, Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto, Sindhi Adabi Sangat, district bar association and others also addressed the protesters.

Dr Niaz Kalani, Tanveer Arijo and others offered juice packets to protesters, which signified the end of the protest.

Three-day hunger strike begins

KARACHI: Activists of All Karachi Students Action Committee, JSQM-Bashir, JSQM-Arisar and Awami Raj Tehreek started a three-day hunger strike outside the Karachi Press Club in protest against enforced disappearances of nationalist parties’ activists in Sindh, PPI adds.

The students belonging to different universities and colleges, political activists and families of missing persons led by Sassui Lohar, a daughter of a missing person Hidayat Lohar, participated in the hunger strike.

The protesters called for the recovery of missing persons, including Hidayat Lohar, Khadim Arijo, Kaleemullah Tunio, Sabir Chandio and others.

They said that if a missing person was involved in illegal activities or crime, he should be brought before a court of law because every citizen of the state was entitled to fair trial and justice as per the Constitution of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2018