MIRPURKHAS, Sept 1: The Labour Party of Pakistan would soon launch a protest campaign against the Kalabagh dam and greater Thal canal projects in Punjab, said its chairman Nisar Shah.

He was speaking at a Sindh Hari Conference held in the Syed Jumman Shah Lakyari village near here on Monday under the aegis of the Sindh Hari Committee. He said that the projects were aimed at irrigating land of generals and added that peasants in the four provinces had been deprived of their rights and, at places like Okara, waging a relentless struggle against their exploitation.

Speaking on the occasion, vice-chairman of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz Abdul Wahid Areesar stressed the need for a consistent struggle to get rid of poverty and "slavery." Awami Tehrik leader Zorawar Jarwar said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was talking about the construction of the Kalabagh dam to appease Punjab.

He paid tribute to Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim for opposing the dam project. Mr Jarwar criticized the Sindh Assembly resolution calling for issuing national identity cards to Bengalis and other immigrants.

Nazli Javed of the LPP said that a joint struggle was needed to eliminate feudalism and capitalism. She said that the military, instead of guarding borders, was harassing people of the country.

Other speakers included Ghani Javed of the Anjuman Mazaraeen Punjab, Yousuf Baloch, Shehla Rizwana, Ghulam Qadir Mirani, Comrade Mustafa Raza, Comrade Mir Mohammad Junejo and Hayat Shah.