‘Economic murder’: Sindh Action Committee demands CCI meeting
The federal government's move to exert authority over and sell off Sindh's islands is akin to "committing the economic murder of fishermen," said Sindh Action Committee (SAC) chairperson Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah on Sunday.
Addressing the participants of a rally organised by the SAC at Fawwara Chowk, he called for the Sindh government to raise the issue with the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and for Prime Minister Imran Khan to withdraw the controversial Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) Ordinance. "Otherwise, we will widen the protests," he warned.
"The presidential ordinance on the islands is in violation of the Constitution and we will not allow this at any cost," he went on.
Sindh Progressive Party (SPP) chief Dr Qadir Magsi, particularly addressing Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, said, "He should tell his masters that the people of Sindh have rejected the PIDA Ordinance."
He added that they had gathered for Sindh's rights, adding that the PM should realise they would not accept his decisions.
Sindh United Party (SUP) leader Syed Zain Shah remarked that the PIDA was aimed at illegally occupying the resources of Sindh and Balochistan. "An ordinance that violates the Constitution cannot be accepted," he said, claiming that Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari was also "involved in selling off Sindh's islands."
The rally was taken from Sharae Faisal and made its way to the Governor House, where other leaders gave speeches, demanding that Prime Minister Imran Khan put an end to "measures against Sindh."
Earlier, the rally's participants presented resolutions, demanding that the PIDA Ordinance be declared illegal and withdrawn. They also called for conducting a survey on islands and including them in the Deh Survey Land Revenue, calling a CCI meeting on an immediate basis to decide the ownership of islands and the recovery of missing workers of nationalist parties in Sindh.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2020.