HYDERABAD, Dec 27: Sindh Taraqi Passand Party (STP) on Wednesday slammed the sale of two islands of Sindh to a foreign company and warned that it would resist the move tooth and nail.
The STP leaders who led a big rally in Qasimabad to protest against the government decision to sell the islands urged people to rise against the in justices being meted out against them and their land.
The rally started from Poonam petrol pump in Qasimabad and after marching on main roads terminated at Nasim Nagar Chowk where STP leaders and chairman of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum addressed it.
STP Chairman Dr. Qadir Magsi said that Sindh had been facing conspiracies since the creation of Pakistan and dictatorial regimes had always tried to usurp the resources of oppressed people. For all practical purposes Sindh had lost its sovereignty, he said.
Mr. Magsi said that 13,000 acres of land was being sold out to foreigners at the cost of one million fishermen who would be dispossessed of their ancestral homes in the process.
He said that there was an unannounced ban on Sindhis’ employment in Karachi and they were being expelled from their own provincial capital. Karachi was part of Sindh and Sindhis would fight for their inherent rights, he warned.Dr. Magsi said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement was engaged in anti-Sindh conspiracies and it considered the province’s urban areas as its personal jagir after taking over their control.
He warned that 45 million Sindhis who had now become fully aware of their rights would put up a strong resistance for their land and resources. With the cooperation of all the friends of Sindh, poets, writers, intellectuals, nationalist and political parties, protest rallies and sit-ins would be staged across the province and awareness campaign would be launched among people by holding open katchehries, he said.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Chairman Syed Mehmood Ali Shah said that the rally should serve as an eye-opener for the anti-Sindh elements. On the one hand plans were a foot to destroy Sindh through the construction of Kalabagh Dam while on the other, millions of fishermen were being ejected and outsiders were being settled in their place, he said.
Sindh National Front General Secretary Gul Mohammad Jakhrani said that Sindh was faced with multidimensional attacks and the sale of islands was a direct attack on its very existence.
He said that history bore witness to the fact that people had always fought to protect their land and honour and they would not hesitate to fight against the sale of their islands.
Dr Hamid Memon, Hyder Shahani, Hassan Chandio, Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo and water expert Nazir Memon also spoke on the occasion. At the conclusion of rally Dr Qadir Magsi took an oath from the participants to struggle for the rights of Sindh.