GWADAR: Hundreds of children took to the streets on Sunday in solidarity with the people of Gwadar who are staging a sit-in in the port city for one week for basic rights.

Carrying placards and banners inscribed with demands “Gwadar ko haq do”, the children marched on various roads of the city and later joined the main sit-in.

Speaking on the occasion, Maulana Hidayat Ullah Baloch, who led the rally, criticised the elected representatives of Gwadar and Makran and asked them to join the sit-in or resign from the assembly as they had been elected to represent them.

He said the names of the representatives who did not visit their constituency should be included in list of missing persons.

Maulana Baloch said that despite the deployment of various security agencies, hundreds of illegal trawlers were involved in illegal fishing in Balochistan’s waters, depriving local fishermen of their livelihood.

He asked the authorities concerned to take steps for stopping illegal fishing immediately and seal all liquor stores in the province. “Otherwise people will destroy them.”

He called for recovery of all disappeared people and said if they were involved in any crime they must be produced before a court of law.

“If our demands are not met, we will continue the sit-in for 127 days in order to break the record of Imran Khan who staged his sit-in for 126 days,” Maulana Baloch said.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2021