They vowed to fight against the move tooth and nail and argued that the natural resources of the province were people’s property and the federal government had no right to sell them off.
In Hyderabad, the activists led by local party leaders Roshan Ali Buriro, Syed Shahjehan Shah, Ameer Ali Thebo, Wahid Bux Sangrasi and Anwar Khoso held a demonstration and a hunger strike outside the press club.
The leaders condemned the proposed sale of the gas field and said that the gas field valued at Rs350 billion provided livelihood to thousands of workers. They expressed their resolve to resist any attempt by the federal government to auction it.
Talking to Dawn on phone, SUP President Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah said that one could not rule out the possibility of kickbacks to vested interests and landlords to facilitate auction of the gas field.
He said that his party would foil the conspiracy aimed at disposing of the province’s natural resources at a pittance and announced that the SUP would stage a sit-in outside the gas field on Oct 26.
In Nawabshah, the SUP activists held a demonstration and observed a token hunger strike outside the press club in protest against the proposed auction of the gas field and looting of mineral resources of the province.
The protesters led by Dr Iqbal Bhatti, divisional coordinator, Mohammed Usman Lakho, district president and Rajab Jalbani raised slogans against the move during the protest.
Syed Zain Shah, the party’s central general secretary, said that they would oppose wrong policies and decisions of the government. Sindh was being pushed back into stoneage by sale of its natural resources or their handover to federal government, he said. Earlier, Sindh’s water had been stolen and then the National Finance Commission award was not distributed fairly.
He said that lawlessness and poverty were on the increase and they could not expect good governance from present rulers.
In Shikarpur, a large number of SUP workers observed a token hunger strike at the Lakhi-Gate Tower Chowk.
The party’s central leader Agha Qamar Mushwani condemned the proposal for privatisation of the gas field and said that the natural resource had been gifted to Sindh by Almighty Allah and the party would foil the federal government’s attempts to privatise it.
He said that the federal government was earning Rs7.1 billion annually from the gas field, which was highly beneficial for the province as well as for the country.
He appealed to the federal government to withdraw move for privatisation of the gas field and stop interference in the matters of natural resources of the province.
Similar protest demonstrations were also held in Dadu, Kandhkot, Moro, Sanghar, Hala, Jamshoro, Bhan Syedabad, Kotri, Badin, Naushahro Feroze, Thatta and Tando Allahyar.
HUNGER STRIKE: The proposed privatisation of Qadirpur gas filed is gathering moss as over 100 trade unionists and political activists observed token hunger strike at Bhittai Chowk in Mirpur Mathelo on Wednesday.
Leaders and workers of Sindh United Party, Sindh National Front, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Jaey Sindh Mahaaz, Jaey Sindh Qaumi Mahaaz, Pakistan People’s Party (SB), Irrigation Employees Union, OGDCL Mazdoor Ittehad and others observed token hunger strike for four hours.
They slammed the government for planning to privatise a huge profit earning gas field and said that would deprive local workers of their livelihood and the government of enormous profit.