A long walk: Nationalist party’s 30-day-long march begins from Sukkur

The marchers will walk for 20 kilometres every day.

SUKKUR: The 30-day-long march of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Aresar (JSQM-A) kicked off from Sukkur on Sunday afternoon.

The march, which will end in Karachi, is being staged against extremism, influx of non-Sindhis into the province and the atrocities committed against the Hindu community. The march began after leaders and workers of JSQM-A gathered along the bank of Indus River opposite the historic Hindu temple, Sadh Bello, and paid tribute to Indus River by showering rose petals. The activists carrying banners and placards were led by JSQM-A senior vice-chairperson Aslam Khairpuri and JSMQ-A Sukkur chapter president Ghulam Nabi Ghanghro.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Khairpuri said that 50 activists will march on foot to Karachi to create awareness among Sindhis regarding their due rights and the injustices committed against them. He said that since the creation of Pakistan, the big province is usurping the natural resources of Sindh and depriving them of their due rights.

“We are the followers of Saen GM Syed, who struggled for the rights of Sindhis till his death.” According to him, the influx of non-Sindhis from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the province is a conspiracy to convert Sindhis into a minority. Many restaurants belonging to non-Sindhis are mushrooming on National Highway from Kashmore to Keti Bunder, which is also a part of the conspiracy against Sindhis.

Ghanghro said that the purpose of the long march from historic Hindu temple is to express solidarity and harmony with the minority community. He believed that a large number of Hindu families are leaving Pakistan due to a sense of insecurity. “But, I assure them that they are safe in Sindh and we will safeguard their rights.”

According to him, the participants of the long march will walk for 20 kilometres daily and after stopovers at various places will reach Hyderabad, where a big public gathering will be held. A  public rally will be held in Karachi. Afterwards, the participants marched towards Central Jail-II, where they paid homage to Shaheed Hemu Kalani and then the marchers left for their first stopover at Babarloi.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2014.