LARKANA: The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) organised a big rally against what it described as ‘anti-Sindh’ projects and an ‘acute shortage’ of irrigation water in Sindh here on Sunday.

Central leaders of the nationalist party Dr Niaz Kalani, Sarfraz Memon, Punhal Sariyo, Nayab Sarkash Sindhi and others led the rally which was joined by workers in the shape of caravans from different districts at Jinnah Bagh.

Carrying banners, placards and raising slogans against the Sindh government and Bahria Town Karachi, the participants in the protest after marching on main thoroughfares of the city gathered outside the local press club and staged a sit-in.

Addressing the participants, Dr Niaz Kalani said that at this crucial stage of paddy sowing season, Sindh farmers were facing an acute shortage of irrigation water.

He alleged that Punjab was stealing water whereas the Sindh government was playing a silent spectator.

Punjab with the stolen water was irrigating 40m acres of land rendering millions of acres of Sindh land barren.

He claimed that Zulfikarabad and BTK were the projects for settling outsiders in Sindh and the JSQM unequivocally rejected these projects.

He claimed that under the pretext of housing scheme, BTK was out to dismantle old villages and dislodging indigenous people which could not be tolerated. He added that the presence of 700,000 Afghans in Sindh was a threat to the peace.

Dr Kalani claimed that peaceful protesters at BTK project were baton-charged and fired upon before they were booked on terrorism charges. He said that JSQM chairman Sanan Qureshi, Zain Shah and around 250 other leaders and workers were arrested under the cover of night.

He described prime minister’s committee constituted to initiate a dialogue with the nationalist leaders as ‘a move to capture islands of Sindh’.

“I request leaders of the Sindh Action Committee not to start talks without prior release of all arrested workers and withdrawal of cases registered against them as well as a halt to encroachment of Sindh’s islands,” he said.

He announced holding of another such rally on July 18 in Nawabshah.

Sarfraz Memon, Punhal Sariyo, Faqeer Imdad Mangi, Hubdar Mirjat, Jamil Gaad, Akbar Makol, Altaf Soomro and others speaking to the rally participants alleged that the PPP over the past 13 years had been trying to encroach upon Sindh’s resources and pushing nationalists to the wall.

They demanded release of all workers booked in ‘false’ cases relating to the June 6 BTK episode, saying that if the Sindh government was sincere, it should focus first on developing backward areas of the province, instead of launching new projects like BTK and Zulfikarabad.

Before joining the rally, Dr Niaz Kalani along with other party leaders visited offered fateha on the grave of JSQM founder Bashir Khan Qureshi in Ratodero.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2021