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SUKKUR, Jan 1: People in different parts of Sindh took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the Kalabagh dam and the army operation in Balochistan. More than 200 activists of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz held a protest demonstration and staged a sit-in on the railway track at the Rohri railway station.
Led by party chairman Syed Zain Shah and Ghulam Rasool, the activists reached the railway station at about 12:30pm and chained themselves with the track due to which the Punjab-bound Shalimar Express, Karachi-bound Awami Express, Shah Rukn-i-Alam Express and other trains were suspended for two hours.
Mr Shah said this was the beginning of the protest against the dam and if the government did not shelve the project, roads and the railway track leading to Punjab would be blocked.
He said construction of the dam would further aggravate the water situation in Sindh.
The TPO of Rohri along with a heavy contingent of police reached the site and negotiated with the protestors after which the blockade was ended and the trains left for their destinations.
Later, the protesters marched through the Rohri town while raising slogans against the Kalabagh dam and the Balochistan operation.
Workers of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, Millat Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Pakistan Muslim League-N and the Sukkur Shehri Ittehad took out a procession from the Regent cinema road and after marching through main roads of the city reached the press club where they staged a sit-in for about one hour.
They condemned the operation in Balochistan, saying innocent people were being killed in the name of operation against terrorists which was leading to extremist views among people.
They said the Balochistan operation and the dam issue had put the integrity of the country at stake.
They criticized Federal Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad for issuing what they called irresponsible statements about the Kalabagh dam.
They demanded that the Kalabagh project should be abandoned and the Balochistan operation stopped.
DADU: Activists of the Sindh People’s Youth Organization took out a procession, held a demonstration outside the press club and burnt an effigy of the federal information minister.
Led by district SPYO president Mohammad Umer Panhwar and secretary Zulfiqar Ali Khokhar, the protesters said the dam would destroy Sindh’s economy.
They criticized Shaikh Rashid and Sindh Minister Saeeda Malik for launching a drive in support of the dam.
Activists of the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, led by district party president Ghulam Qadir Laghari, also held a march against the project.
THATTA: Activists of the PPP, PPP’s youth wing, STPP and the JSQM, observed a token hunger strike in the Gharo town.
Later, a large number of people joined the hunger strike.
The protesters accused the federal government of betraying Sindh by insisting on construction of the controversial Kalabagh dam. They alleged that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had hired the services of some feudal lords to muster support for what they called the anti-Sindh project.
