KARACHI, Feb 12: Speakers at a protest rally in Malir on Sunday expressed their concern over the growing incidents of lawlessness in the area, and criticized the government for its failure in checking the same.

They pointed out that dacoities and kidnappings in Malir had become order of the day which had created a sense of insecurity among people. They accused government agencies of not performing their basic duties in this regard.

The speakers strongly condemned the ongoing military action in Balochistan and demanded an immediate end to it. They said that Marri and Bugti tribesmen, including innocent women and children, were being dubbed as miscreants and killed mercilessly by the country’s forces using military aircraft and other weapons of mass destruction.

The rally was organized by the Malir Alliance and was addressed by Secretary-General of the National Workers Party Yusuf Mastikhan, MNA Sher Mohammad Baloch, former MPA Hakim Baloch, Usman Baloch, besides Sindhi nationalist leaders Dr Qadir Magsi, Bashir Qureshi, Suleiman Abdullah Baloch, Shafi Mohammad Jamote and others.

They said that Malir, once a green land, had now become a barren land. The ‘builders mafia’, in collaboration with certain officials, was occupying lands of the native people through fraudulent means, they added.

They also pointed out that illegal excavation for reti and bajri had totally destroyed the agriculture economy of the locality, and held government functionaries responsible for the destruction.

They deplored that the people of Malir were being deprived of basic facilities and dislodged from their ancestral lands in the name of uplift projects like Education City and Health City.

Addressing the rally, Yusuf Mastikhan condemned the government for “adopting a hostile attitude towards Baloch people in every part of the country.”

He lamented that the Baloch people, not only in Balochistan but also in Karachi, were being deprived of their resources and livelihood. In this context, he referred to the old localities of Karachi, such as Lyari, Malir and Ibrahim Haideri, which were once dominated by Baloch and Sindhi people.

Mr Mastikhan also deplored certain forces which were out to make the Baloch and Sindhi people believe that their forefathers had taken the wrong decision of joining Pakistan.

He expressed concern over the rising graph of crime in Malir, and urged the government to take urgent steps to check rampant dacoities and kidnappings in the area.

Dr Qadir Magsi and Bashir Qureshi slammed the colonial approach of the government in dealing with Sindhi and Baloch people, who, according to him, were being treated like slaves.

They alleged that the lands belonging to the two nationalities were being occupied by criminals forcibly in the name of development. The citizens, they added, were also being deprived of their livelihood.

Condemning the military operation in Balochistan, they called for an immediate halt to it and asked the government to resolve the issue through political and peaceful means.

The nationalist leaders assured the Baloch people of fully support from the Sindhi people in their struggle for national rights.

MNA Sher Mohammad Baloch and Hakim Baloch, expressing their grave concern over the activities of builders mafia in Malir, said that they had ruined the green land of Malir and deprived the local residents of their ancestral lands, as well as their livelihood to force them to move to some other place.

Yusuf Mastikhan and Hakim Baloch also condemned the baton-charge by police on protesters after the rally, which was completely peaceful.

They also deplored arrest of several participants, saying that there was no justification for police action.