Fishermen protest at Karachi harbour

KARACHI: Fishermen in Karachi on Saturday staged a protest after docking their boats at the harbour and Keamari Jetty.

However, after assurance from Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Marine Affairs Mahmood Moulvi, fishermen called off the protest.

Fishermen started to protest against unnecessary checking of their boats in the open sea and misbehaviour of the government and maritime officials.

The fishermen also staged a sit-in on the main Maripur Road, blocked the traffic for several hours.

Fishermen leaders told The News that the protest started on Friday late night as the fishermen were stopped by the authorities from venturing into the open sea for fishing even though the annual two-month ban had ended July 31.

The government restricts fishing in June and July as it is breeding and high tide monsoon season. Moulvi reached there for talks with fishermen leaders and assured that their grievances would be addressed. “The government is aware of the problems being faced by the fishermen,” he said.

The leaders of protesting fishermen will hold another round of talks with Moulvi and other maritime officials over the fishermen's problems on Monday.

After his assurance, fishermen decided to call off their protest and opened the channel.

Owing to the protest, the anchoring of cargo ships was suspended at the port.

Asif Bhatti, a representative of the fishermen community, said that fishermen had been unable to do fishing for the last two months and now they are facing problems in feeding their families.

“A large number of women and children also joined the protest because,” he told The News.