HYDERABAD, Dec 20: A large number of workers of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and Jeay Sindh Students Federation, led by Abdul Wahid Arisar, observed a token hunger strike outside the press club on Wednesday to protest against the sale of two Karachi islands to a foreign company and enforced disappearance of nationalist activists.

They raised full-throated slogans of “Free the nationalist leaders," "Stop state terrorism" and "Cancel sale of the islands".

Talking to reporters, Mr Arisar said that the intelligence agencies had picked up a number of leaders and activists of the JSQM and other nationalist parties, who were being held incommunicado and tortured.

He said that some of them had been produced in the courts but they were not being treated as political prisoners in the jails and were denied facilities, including that of meetings with their relatives. He demanded production of those picked up by the agencies in courts.