HYDERABAD: Representatives of peasants and workers trade unions regret that Sindh government has not yet withdrawn its appeal filed in Supreme Court against Sindh High Court’s landmark pro-peasant judgement passed in 2019.

They were expressing their views at a gathering held at Sher Khan Malokhani village in Matiari district to mark the International Day of Peasants on Wednesday.

Hari Welfare Association’s president Akram Ali Khaskheli said that his association had met caretaker prime minister along with Sindh Member on National Human Rights Commission, Anees Har­oon, to seek his help in getting Sindh government to withdraw its application and the prime minister had promised to do the needful but nothing happened apparently.

He said that PPP government appeared adamant to go against the pro-peasant rights judgement and lamented that it was despite the fact the party’s voter base comprised peasants and rural workers who were not ill-treated in agriculture sector.

He said that Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950, was not implemented for around 74 years and in 2013 and onward the PPP government even changed certain provisions in Act to favour landlords.

He said the Act governed relationship between landlords and tenants, including sharecroppers in rural areas of Sindh. However, practically, only landlords governed this relationship and enjoyed all rights under the law while peasants remained poor and marginalised, he said.

The peasants never benefited from subsidies the government provided during floods and in the event of rise in inflation and equally suffered losses in production whereas only landlords were paid compensation, he said.

The gathering was told that the appeal was filed in January 2020 and then agriculture minister Ismail Rahu had confirmed the government would not pursue the appeal against the judgement in the apex court. But Sindh government, on the other hand, continued to fight the case till April 2023, he said.

The HWA received a copy of government’s plea which revealed the government had no concerns for the rights of peasants and rural workers and it was rather pursuing anti-peasant rights policies that aided repressive feudal system and structure, he said.

Sujag Women Hari Trade Union’s president Habib Khatoon said that lack of enforcement of law deprived peasants and rural workers of protection and welfare, exacerbating difficulties in accessing land and getting fair treatment in their relationship with landowners.

She shared some cases about landlords’ ill-treatment of peasants her organisation had gathered in September 2023 and said that a landlord in Mirpurkhas attempted rape of a peasant girl and in Larkana a landlord allegedly murdered peasants.

She said that a landlord dispossessed peasants in Mithi in August and police lodged fake case against peasants in Dadu and later occupied their lands at the behest of an influential landlord. In Benazirabad, a landlord was allegedly involved in attempted rape of a peasant girl, she said.

She said that a landlord had allegedly killed a peasant in November in Mirpur­khas, a peasant’s sons were abducted over repayment of debt in Badin district

and a landlord had allegedly kidnapped three daughters and their mother in Naushahro Feroze. Scores of peasants were forcibly evicted by landlords in other districts, she said.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2024