KARACHI, Jan 11: The PPP legislators from Lyari Town have supported the elected representatives of the Fishermen Cooperative Society on the issue of future leadership.

They were of the view that the FCS, being an NGO, should be kept away from party politics, and demanded that the elected representatives be allowed to play their due role in resolving the leadership crisis.

They expressed their concern over the government's failure in handling the affair, and regretted that despite a lapse of six months since the election of the new FCS board of directors, no formal meeting of the Board could be held for the purpose of electing its new chairman because of 'political interference'.

The PPP legislators' views came during their visit on Tuesday to the Karachi Fish Harbour. They expressed solidarity with the fishermen community on the issue of FCS leadership, which has created a crisis in the entire fish industry.

Talking to Dawn, one of the elected directors, Saleem Deedag, said that the PPP leaders had fully backed fishermen community's stand that no political figure should be given top office of the Society because of its 'sensitive nature'.

The PPP leaders who visited the harbour included MNA Sardar Nabil Gabol, and MPAs Rafique Engineer and Dr Saleem Hingoro. They also took round the market halls and inspected the renovation work in progress there.

Earlier, a group of elected FCS directors, including Usman Lalwani, Habibullah Khan Niazi and Wadera Habibullah Baloch briefed the PPP leaders about fishermen's grievances.

The FCS representatives told them that the FCS had been facing serious administrative and financial problems for the past six months as the elected body of the fishermen community had not been made functional due to the government's reluctance to convene the long due meeting of the board. They urged the legislators to raise the issue in the Sindh Assembly and persuade the government not to nominate any political figure to the FCS board.