Rights bodies, political parties launch movement to protect islands

Rejecting the recently promulgated Pakistan Islands Development Authority (Pida) Ordinance, a group of rights organisations and political parties have formed the Save Sea Islands Movement and set up a coordination committee to stop any possible construction on the twin islands of Dingi and Bhundar.

These announcements were made during a meeting of the coordination committee held in Karachi. The meeting’s participants termed Pida an illegitimate body and rejected the presidential ordinance promulgated to form it.

The meeting also decided to conduct a meeting of Sindh’s coastal fisher folk on October 9 in Ibrahim Hyderi against the federal government’s decision that is detrimental to the livelihoods of the fisher folk and an attack over the sovereignty of the province.

They decided to organise a boat rally to the islands on October 15 and hold a protest meeting over there. The rally would include Sindh’s political activists, social workers, nationalists, lawyers, academia, students and fisher folk communities.

They also decided to start a mass awareness movement after the boat rally. In the first phase, awareness would be spread in the Thatta and Sujawal districts on October 16, followed by protest demonstrations outside the press clubs, while the Badin and Hyderabad districts would be visited on October 17.

The awareness movement would be spread to all the districts of Sindh later on. It would follow a pedestrian long march from the embankment of the islands to the Governor House.

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Chairman Muhammad Ali Shah said the development of the twin islands is indeed a destructive decision that would snatch the livelihoods of at least 800,000 fisher folk. He said that such so-called development would not be accepted at any cost.

The meeting was also attended by PFF General Secretary Saeed Baloch, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research Executive Director Karamat Ali, Aurat Foundation’s Mahnaz Rehman, representatives of Indigenous Rights Alliance, Abdul Khaliq Junejo, Gul Hassan Kalmati, Usman Baloch and labour leader Nasir Mansoor.

Another protest

Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi has also announced a protest to be held outside the Governor House on Sunday to oppose the Centre’s decision to promulgate the Pida Ordinance as well as voice distrust in both federal and provincial governments.

STPP leaders said they are contacting leaders of various political and religious parties — including the Qaumi Awami Tehreek, the Sindh United Party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and the Jamaat-e-Islami — to jointly organise a sit-in outside the Governor House.