HYDERABAD: A crackdown on leaders and workers of various nationalist parties and groups triggered protest demonstrations in many districts of Sindh on Sunday.

According to Jeay Sindh Mahaz-Riaz (JSM-R) and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), their leaders, Riaz Chandio and Dr Niaz Kalani, respectively, were taken away and kept at some undisclosed places while scores of their workers were picked up in a night-long crackdown.

They claimed that the aim of the crackdown was to sabotage their protest rally, titled ‘Rawadari March’, which was scheduled for Sunday in Karachi.

JSM-R chief Riaz Chandio was to lead the rally organised by his party while Dr Kalani and JSQM workers were to join it along with activists of various other nationalist parties and groups.

Whereabouts of the two leaders were not known till late Sunday evening.

Leaders of a number of nationalist entities at a consultation session, chaired by Riaz Chandio in Hyderabad a day earlier, had spelt out the common issues which were to be agitated at the Sunday rally.

Speaking at the session, the leaders had condemned the Sept 19 extrajudicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar in Mirpurkhas and desecration of his body, which was torched by a group of unruly religious extremists in Umerkot, where it was to be buried.

The participants had demanded punishment according to law for all police officers and personnel involved in the custodial killing and action against the extremist elements.

Besides, the leaders had vowed to agitate Punjab’s plan to create new canals over Indus and Sindh government’s failure to rein-in dacoit gangs who, according to them were ruling over two entire divisions of upper Sindh.

Scores of two nationalist entities’ workers were also picked up in raids on their homes in various cities and towns of Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Naushahro Feroze, Sanghar and other districts.

Homes of Sindhu Nawaz Ghangro and Punhal Sario were also raided but they could not be detained.

Other workers and supporters of the entities reacted by staging demonstrations in all these cities and towns on Sunday.

A meeting of JSM-R was held in Hyderabad on Sunday to condemn the raids and detention of the leaders and workers. The party’s activists held a protest demonstration outside the local press club. They were led by Shahnawaz Badahi, Azizullah, Sarfaraz Memon, Ayaz Solangi and others.

Addressing the participants, they warned that if they were not released within the next 24 hours, the party would hold protests across Sindh on Monday.

In Larkana, a group of protesters led by Zulfikar Buledi, Razzak Sargani and Zubair Memon held a demonstration outside the local press club to condemn the crackdown.

Activists of different nationalist parties also held demonstrations in different towns of Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze, Sanghar, Dadu and Jamshoro districts.

They warned that highways would be blocked if all the detained leaders and workers were not released immediately.

The demonstration outside the Kotri SITE gate was led by Abdul Fattah Chana, Mallah Qadir and Azad Panhwar.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2024