HYDERABAD, June 17: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum has announced the schedule of its three-month protest against the contract system of fishing and alleged excesses of the government against fishermen.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Friday, forum chairman Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, vice-chairman Mustafa Mirani, secretary-general Syed Baloch and other office-bearers said the decision was taken at a meeting of fishermen held in Jamshoro earlier in the day.

They regretted that the Sindh government was trying to introduce a contract system for catching fish which would deprive poor fishermen of their only source of livelihood. They recalled that the Sindh Assembly had abolished the contract system and restored the licence system in 1977. Even in the Fisheries Ordinance, promulgated in 1980, the licence system had been given protection, they further said.

They alleged that excesses were being made against fishermen and their leaders were being arrested and subjected to violence.

They said there were no health and educational facilities in villages of fishermen.

They criticized those people who were exploiting and misguiding fishermen. They said these so-called champions of fishermen’s rights had disappointed fishermen.

They also lashed out at the adviser to the Sindh chief minister on fisheries for allegedly victimizing fishermen and issuing threats to them.

The fishermen’s leaders said that to continue the struggle against the contract system, the forum’s Jamshoro meeting had chalked out a protest schedule to enlarge the scope of the struggle throughout the country.

They said a fishermen’s convention would be held in Hyderabad on July 18, a protest march would be held from the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam to the Sindh Assembly on Aug 18, protest demonstrations and hunger strikes would be held in district headquarters from June 21 to June 24 and a black day would be observed in Sindh on June 30.

They said protest demonstrations, seminars and hunger strikes would also be organized in Lahore and Islamabad on July 25, in cooperation with social welfare organizations and fishermen of Punjab.

WAPDA UNION: A delegation of the Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union called on a member, power, Wapda, Khalid Anwar, here on Thursday and complained to him that employees were not provided with any protection by law-enforcement agencies which had resulted in accumulation of huge arrears against power consumers.