KARACHI, April 29: Speakers at a book launch on Sunday said that around three million people lived in Sindh’s mountainous regions but no government had ever taken interest in developing those areas and solving the problems the people there had been facing for many decades.

“It is our moral and humanistic obligation to take care of those people who still live in the mountains despite all sorts of difficulties and problems,” said Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the Sindh president of the Pakistan People’s Party, in his keynote speech at the launching of the book ‘Mountains of Sindh’, compiled by Dr Karim Khuwaja. The programme was organised by the People’s Doctors Forum in a local hotel.

The 170-page book is a compilation of 21 thought-provoking and informative articles on the mountains of Sindh, highlighting their myths, culture, mineral wealth, climate, springs, problems, health hazards and Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s poetry depicting the life of huge mountain ranges of Sindh during his times.

The authors included Sir Richard F. Burton, M.H. Panhwar, Anwer Pirzado, Sirajul Haq Memon and Dr Ghulam Ali Allana.

Mr Shah referred to the PPP governments’ efforts for converting the Gorakh area into a hill station.

The leader of the opposition in the Senate, Raza Rabbani, lashed out at out at the international concerns which, according to him, were getting all advantages of oil exploration in Sindh’s mountainous ranges but spending nothing on the uplift and betterment of the areas and their inhabitants.

He said Kirthar was one of the largest mountain ranges of Pakistan but its people were massively neglected.

“What talk of those people, Sindh is generally being exploited by the rulers who don’t shy from selling out Sindh’s islands and beaches to foreigners without taking into confidence the people of this ill-fortunate province,” he said.

“Foreigners are establishing their dominance and we are merely seeing them as silent spectators,” said Mr Rabbani.

Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, said the mountainous regions of Sindh formed 60 per cent of the total area of the province but there was no attention being paid to their natural landscaping.

He said the mountain people were still inaccessible and the majority of them were far away from the blessings of modern era and its fruit.

“They are being denied all sorts of facilities but we should realise that they have the rights at par with the rest of Pakistan and deserve all the facilities and privileges that others are enjoying,” he said.

Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman, deputy parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Sindh Assembly, said Sindh’s mountains were witness to great history as they had seen them as cradle of a great civilisation and also shockingly witnessed the invaders such as Mehmood Ghaznavi and Shahabuddin Ghauri and others who played havoc with Sindh’s rich culture and civilisation.

Dr Javed Leghari, Dr M Suleman Shaikh and Nasir Panhwar also spoke.