FEUDAL impunity is destroying Pakistan’s poor populations. This is particularly true in Sindh where the vulnerable endure harassment and exploitation at the hands of powerful landlords. Last week, a large number of activists from the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum protested against the unlawful occupation of lakes, including the Kakaho lake in Sanghar district by the Hingorjo community, and other freshwater bodies along the coastal belt, which stand usurped by feudal might. PFF leaders have been agitating for long against the feudals whose excesses — the encroachment of sweet water lakes, depriving fisherfolk of their fishing rights and threatening them with false cases and seizing their boats and fishing nets — have ended hundreds of livelihoods. Sadly, the anglers’ hardships have worsened since the launch of the fishing licence scheme as they are kept away from fishing areas by armed goons.

Feudal clans wield immense power over the province’s political and social structure, which makes pro-fishermen policies impossible to formulate. In fact, there have been many instances where serving ministers have allegedly been part of the mafia that illegally appropriates marine wealth. As a result, while the power elite rakes in millions, fishermen and their kin are left to waste with hunger. This is yet another textbook instance of state failure; communities without financial capital and political clout cannot hope for administrative action. It is deplorable that our fractured justice system — unfair, weak, and subservient to the influential — is the reason for the agony of the fishermen. Sindh’s corrupt police force enables every injustice perpetrated by exploitative power structures, reducing indigent people to slaves. It is hoped that NGOs, rights activists and civil society join the campaign for fishermen’s rights and protection, as well as build pressure on international rights bodies to raise the matter with the government. In times of economic stress, sustained monetary support for fisherfolk is paramount.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2024