KARACHI, Dec 7: Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum has decided to hold awami courts and assemblies at the union and tehsil level throughout the province to draw the authorities attention to fishermen’s problems. The campaign will start from next month, January, which will continue till July. The awami courts will be held in the towns and villages while the national assemblies of fishermen will be held in Karachi and Islamabad.

This decision was taken at a governing body meeting of the forum which was presided over by its Chairman, Mohammad Ali Shah.

The meeting criticised the attitude of government agencies towards the fisherfolk community’s plight.

It regretted that the PFF had been constantly struggling for the fisherfolk communities’ rights, but the concerned authorities were ignoring them.

The PFF meeting identified the contract system, sale of two islands, pollution in the sea, unchecked deep-sea fishing, use of banned nets in the creeks and denial of basic amenities to the fishermen villages as their major problems.