MULTAN, Dec 15: Tenants in all the villages of Okara military farms took out processions against the arrest of their president, Khushi Muhammad, and the alleged kidnapping of the father of a tenant who was killed during a clash in August.

Tenant families came out of their houses on the sounding of sirens installed recently by the Anjuman-i-Mazareen to alert the tenants in case of any eventuality, including raids by police and Rangers.

The protesters chanted slogans against the Rangers accusing the paramilitary force of the bloody events of August that claimed the life of Suleman Masih and caused injuries to many others.

They urged the governments in the centre and the province to pay heed to their demand and order immediate withdrawal of aggressive measures taken against Okara tenants.

The Anjuman’s Okara president, Ghani Javed, said it was the beginning of a series of demonstrations that would be organized on all the 21 state-owned agricultural and livestock farms in Punjab. He said AMP would also observe hunger strike in Islamabad to protest arbitrary actions against tenants.

He expressed concern over the ‘kidnapping’ of Patris Masih, the father of Suleman Masih, and alleged that the Rangers were pressing him to stop pursuing the cases about the circumstances of his son’s death.

“The Rangers high-ups want a written statement from the family of Suleman that exonerate them of their involvement in his death,” he said.