HYDERABAD, Oct 20: Women activists of the Awami Tehreek (AT) and its women wing, Sindhyani Tehrik (ST), observed a token hunger strike at a camp set up outside a local press club here on Saturday in protest against the registration of what they described as fabricated cases against their 380 fellow activists.

The protesters said that 380 workers of the AT and the ST and writers, who participated in a sit-in on Oct 16 in protest against the Sindh People’s Local Government Act (SPLGA) 2012, were booked in criminal cases in two polices stations of Thatta district, in Gharo and Sujawal.

The protesters carrying their party flags and banners chanted slogans against the government and its ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

They demanded that the government withdraw ‘fake’ cases registered against their party workers. They said that poetess Maryam Majeed and writer Ayaz Amar Sheikh, who took part in the sit-in in protesting against the SPLGA, were also ‘falsely’ booked.

They said that they would continue their struggle against the controversial local government law until it was withdrawn or repealed.

“People in all districts of the province have observed a token hunger strike in protest against fake cases registered against our 380 workers, the SPLGA and objectionable language used by PPP leaders at a public meeting held recently in Hyderabad,” Sindhyani Tehrik president Husna Rahuju said while sitting at the token hunger strike camp.

“PPP leaders must apologise to the nation for using derogatory language and repeal the local government law,” she added.

Our Dadu correspondent adds: A token hunger strike was observed on Saturday in front of the Dadu press club on the call of Ayaz Latif Palejo, the president of Awami Tehreek (AT), against the recently promulgated local government law.

Scores of activists from the AT and also from the Sindhyani Tehreek (ST) protested against the promulgation of the LG law. The leaders present at the protest included the district ST president Zeenat Samoo, and local activists of AT, Lal Bux Birohi, Imran Lakhiar and Aftab Abbasi.