NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, May 2: Artistes belonging to Fankar Welfare Council and members of the Young Citizen Alliance staged a rally in Moro on Wednesday seeking medical treatment of a poverty-stricken artiste.

Organisers of the rally said that artiste Mohammad Siddique Parhiar, 60, was seriously ill but too poor to bear expenses for treatment. Despite his several requests no government had done anything for him, they said.

The artiste had earlier been subsisting on stipends from the Sindh Cultural Department, but they too had been discontinued for last few months, the protesters said.

Mr Parhiar had worked as stage artiste for about 40 years and his dramas such as "Jaahil", "Chilkni Da Khair Huwey" "Poitey Jee Parej" and "Kean Chariay Khey Choor" would be remembered for a long time, they said.

Mr Parhiar was a writer, director and artiste of famous video films like "Dilawar", "Hero and Pathar" and "Smuggler", they said.

They complained that a number of Sindhi artistes had died in miserable conditions as they could not get proper treatment and help from the Sindh Cultural Department.

Led by Saqib Abbasi, Khair Mohammad Dahri, Shahzad Soomro and Shoaib Abbasi protesters also staged a sit-in outside the Moro press club.