Two days after the killing of Abdul Ghani and Haji Abu Bakar, two environmentalists striving to protect the mangrove forest in the coastal belt of the city from land grabbers, the police have still not laid their hands on the former Keamari town naib nazim and his father, who were nominated in the FIR as the people responsible for the dual murder.
Hundreds of fisherfolk gathered in the coastal village of Kakapir in Keamari Town on Sunday, setting aside fears of an attack by the land mafia, to attend the soyem of the two slain Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) activists and pay rich tributes to them. On the occasion, the fisherfolk, hailing from different areas, vowed to continue their campaign despite the visible threats.
PFF General Secretary Saeed Baloch said that the police are reluctant to arrest the criminals involved in the killing of their activists, and there can be further attacks on the mangrove-protection campaigners. “We have received information that some armed people were seen wandering in the area last night in the search of PFF activists. We have conveyed this to the government authorities and international human rights campaigners should take up the issue on priority basis,” Baloch said.
“It is an issue of environmental conservation. Besides being the breeding grounds for fish, mangroves also provide scenic beauty for picnickers. Now these plants face the threat of being wiped out.” PFF Chairperson Mohammad Ali Shah, Kausar Sadiq, Khuda Ganj Shad and others were also present on the occasion. On the call of the PFF, a large number of activists observed a black day in all the major cities and district headquarters to condemn the murder of the two PFF campaigners.
Fisherfolk of different water bodies of Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Sanghar, Qambar, Sukkur, Kandhkot and other areas and civil society leaders condemned the dual murder and demanded that the authorities concerned must protect the natural resources. In Gwadar, a large number of fisherfolk staged a rally to express solidarity with their Karachi counterparts. PFF Chairperson Mohammad Ali Shah said the two activists were killed because they were struggling to protect mangroves along the129-km long coast of Karachi. He said that the influential people, who enjoy the support of the land mafia and government functionaries, have occupied a wide area of beaches and are using the land for commercial purposes.
He said that the PFF has been striving to protect the mangroves since a long time and the authorities concerned have been informed about the intentions of the land mafia, who are involved in reclamation of the coastal land. “But even then, no action has been taken and land grabbers have killed two PFF leaders,” he added. He said that the PFF wants to protect Karachi because it is located in a disaster-prone zone, where the threats of cyclones and tsunamis always prevail.
“We want to avoid such disasters by protecting the mangroves and ask the citizens to support our move against criminals, who are putting lives at risk.”
Fisherfolk gather at PFF activists’ soyem, observe black day
