ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: The People’s Rights Movement (PRM), a confederation of social movements from across the country, held a protest demonstration near Bari Imam on Sunday.

The demonstration was held against the continuing harassment and violence being perpetrated by the state against the Anjuman Mazareen Punjab (AMP) and the 150,000 landless tenants of Okara military farms.

Hundreds of women and children, mostly from Muslim Colony kutcha abadi, participated in the demonstration.

They expressed solidarity with the AMP and demanded an end to the inhuman treatment of the tenants.

The demonstrators held placards inscribed with slogans chastising the government for attacking tenants, allotting land to generals, and not living up to its promise of allotting ownership rights to the landless tenants.

Speaking on the occasion, the PRM representative, Zahoor Khan, described the intimidation tactics of the Rangers and police officials including how they issued show cause notices to relatives of tenants, and subsequently forcibly secured the tenant’s thumb prints on contracts revoking their tenancy status.

Mr Khan highlighted that tenants were still not free to move from one village to the other due to check posts and barricades.

He said a PRM team visited Okara two days ago along with eminent scientist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy. The demonstrators demanded of the government that all officials must be held accountable for making statements about the allotment of land to landless tenants and then not following their sayings.

They also demanded the withdrawal of the Rangers and asked that representatives of the Punjab government, the actual owner of the land, to negotiate with the tenants.

Trying to force the tenants into signing contracts, which may lead to their eviction, has already caused a great deal of mistrust.

Zahoor Khan said the tenants had secured the support of people’s movements, trade unions, journalists, and other groups across the country.