MIRPURKHAS April 15: Speakers at a seminar on Sunday demanded that the government should withdraw fabricated cases against people belonging to scheduled castes in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar and Tharparkar district and release them on personal surety.

The seminar organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on the problems of scheduled castes condemned taluka nazim of Khipro Khuda Bux Dars for his alleged excesses against scheduled caste people and demanded action against elements involved in kidnapping schedule caste persons.

The seminar also demanded reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Kanji Rano Bheel, district coordinator of HRCP core group Mirpurkhas, said that 17 scheduled caste persons were implicated in false cases by Khipro police on the behest of taluka nazim. Maulvi Allauddin and Dilawar Maalkani and their supporters had occupied the land of scheduled castes in Tharparkar, he said.

HRCP activist Sarwan Kumar alleged that scheduled caste women including young girls were being forcibly kidnapped but police usually did not take any action against the culprits.

Our Hyderabad bureau adds: Speakers at the 116th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on Sunday called for an end to discrimination against Dalits and their representation in the legislative assemblies, district and taluka councils and public safety commissions in accordance with their population.

Veteran leftist leader Jam Saqi, Engineer Giyanchand, Sono Mal Khangrani, Gullan Bhind, Hafeez Kumbhar and Zulfiqar Shah said at the anniversary organised by Pak Reformatory Institute of Dalit Emancipation at the press club that Dr Ambedkar was the undisputed leader of Dalits (untouchables) of the subcontinent.

The gathering adopted over a dozen resolutions demanding six per cent quota in employment for the scheduled caste as announced by Quaid-i-Azam and noted that the scheduled caste were included in the column of Hindus for the purpose of votes only otherwise high caste Hindus did not accept them.