SUKKUR: A large number of people took part in two big processions which were staged here on Friday for the recovery of Pirya Kumari and Naveed Lashari.

One was taken out by the Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto to launch a protest movement for the recovery of the innocent hostages. The protesters, who started their march from Global Chowk and concluded at Dolphin Chowk, condemned police for their failure to recover Pirya kidnapped from Sanghar three years ago and Naveed from Jacobabad a year ago.

PPP-SB’s Sindh president Zubair Jatoi, who led the protest, told reporters that his party had announced a peaceful drive for the recovery of the victims and alleged that the Sindh government was 100pc involved in their kidnapping.

He said that they would hold a protest outside Sukkur bench of the Sindh High Court and present a memorandum to judges on April 2, and warned if the hostages were not recovered, they would carry out a phase-wise movement after the Eid in all divisional headquarters in Sindh.

Police and administration themselves delivered weapons to bandits in riverine areas, he claimed.

He said that if the rulers could not provide peace, health and education to public, they had no right to rule.

Protesters in another procession taken out by the Soomra community said that Sukkur and Jacobabad police had utterly failed to recover the two children. The entire Sindh had been protesting for their recovery but the CM and elected representatives were not paying heed to their cries, they said.

They appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Court, Chief of Army Staff and Chief Justice of Sindh High Court to take notice of the growing unrest in Sindh and recover all hostages, including Pirya and Naveed.

Protesters block highway

Family members and relatives of two watchmen, who were abducted at gunpoint in Tangwani town, Kandhkot-Kash-more district, staged a demonstration and blocked a section of the Indus Highway within the limits of Dera Sarki police station on Friday.

The watchmen, Muneer and Hamza Ali Gujrani, were kidnapped by a gang of dacoits when they were performing their duties at Sui gas check-value point along the Tangwani-Thull road last night.

The protestors appe-aled to higher authorities to take notice of their protest ad order immediate recovery of their men from the dacoits’ clutches.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2024