GRM announce sit-in outside Gwadar airport

The movement’s protest entered 36th day on Thursday

QUETTA:

Gwadar Rights Movement (GRM) has announced staging a sit-in outside the Gwadar International Airport today (Friday) to put pressure on the government for the acceptance of its demands.

“We will stage a sit-in on the road leading to airport and will block it for all kind of traffic,” Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, the GRM chief said.

On Thursday the protest entered its 36th day being held at Lala Hameed Chowk, Gwadar.

The government delegation has failed to engage the protesters and convince us to end the protest by assuring a solution to our problems, the maulana complained.

Addressing the protesters on the thirty-sixth day of the protest sit-in, the GRM chief said that illegal trawling and fishing has deprived local fishermen of their daily bread and butter.

Over-fishing has been underway in the coastal waters of Balochistan and as a result many fish species have completely disappeared, the Maulana said, adding that these trawlers are owned by Karachi-based billionaire.

He urged the local lawyers not to take the cases if these Karachi-based trawlers are caught and brought to courts in Gwadar.

He said that fishing communities in Awaran, Mastung, Khuzdar, Khadkocha and Makran are bearing the brunt of this practice and the political parties are responsible for the destruction of these areas of Balochistan due to their silence over the matter.

He noted that Balochistan has been left in ruins by these political parties, and their ignorance is on its peak, but no leader of any nationalist party has resigned from the assembly as a protest against it.

Maulana added that the so called intellectuals on social media, who are criticizing the Haq Do Movement Gwadar, should first tell the world what is the fault and mistakes of the Haq Du Movement.

“First, tell us if it is our fault that our livelihood has been snatched,” he asked.

If we are wrong, then they should not support us, but if we are right then they should join our struggle and protest, he observed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2022.