LARKANA, March 4: The women councillors of the district, Talukas and union councils of Larkana, in a resolution against the greater Thal canal, terming it a project against the interests of the people of Sindh and demanded the federal government to immediately withdraw the project.

The resolution was unanimously carried in a meeting of women councillors from different parts of Larkana district on Sunday.

Dr Sabiha Mughal, central leader of the Khaksar Tehrik, who attended the meeting as an observer, said that like the Kalabagh dam, the greater Thal canal was not acceptable at the cost of national integrity.

She proposed to talk to India which was threatening to use the Indus Water Treaty as a ‘war card’.

They urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf to personally hear their problems otherwise they would resign en masse as a mark of protest against the continued indifferent attitude of Nazims and other authorities towards the problems raised by them.

The women councillors also vowed to go for hunger strikes and protest rallies before resigning en masse if the authorities continued to neglect them.

On this occasion, Larkana Ladies Councillors Alliance (LLCL) was formed with Ms Nasim Sahito as itspresident.

The women councillors from different areas vented their feelings. Most of them accused their respective union council Nazims and chairmen of the Zakat and Ushr committees of ignoring their requests and demands.

Ms. Iqbal Banu Tunio, councillor from union council 3, accused her area Nazim of sparing no time at all towards the social activities related to his post.

She said that the area Nazim was an advocate and remained in the court most of the time while in the evening his family always said that he was fast asleep whenever anybody visited his house for the solution of their problems.

The women councillors demanded President Pervez Musharraf to take action against the doctors and advocate Nazims who simultaneously enjoyed two portfolios and gave no time to the public.

Most of the lady councillors accused some area Zakat chairmen of favouritism and others of indifference towards women councillors.

A lady councillor of union council 3, Badshah Zadi, accused the chairman Zakat of her area of providing Zakat funds to his close relatives including two sons, a daughter, and grandmother instead of providing it to the needy women and poor people.

The women councillors, however, vowed to start a movement for the rights of the poor, especially women, and if no heed was paid to their demands they would resign en masse.

Those present on the occasion included Dr Sabiha Mughal, Nasim Sahito, Ms Inayatan Bugti, Umaida Memon, Ms Badshah Zadi, Ms Hooran Pathani, Ms Badarnisa Memon, Ms Inayata Soomro, Ms Hameeda, Ms Zeenat Buledi, and Ms Rashida Bhutto among others.

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