A teacher runs the village with an iron fist

As the elections are approaching fast, some influential politicians in the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) are reportedly patronising a schoolteacher, a self-claimed chief, for maintaining its writ on the poor Bhutto and Magrio clans in the Arain village, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The small village is located in district Shikarpur’s Garhi Yasin taluka with police station and post office Gaheja and almost 100 percent literacy rate as mentioned in the official documents.
In 2009, Noor Uddin Bhutto, a primary school teacher posted at Government Boys Primary School (Main) Shaikh Mohalla, Madeji, became a self-claimed chief of the Bhutto clan. However, the Bhutto community was against him due to his behaviour and conduct and made Saeed Ahmed Mangrio their chief of the tribe. As it stands, no activity, not even the burial of a person or marriage of a person of the village, can taken place unless the chief of the village gives permission.
Politically, the said village falls under the constituency of PPP’s Sindh Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani and PML-Q’s Ghaus Bux Mahar. However, both the leaders have never bothered to interfere in the village’s matters even though the people there are being deprived of their fundamental human rights.
The said village has Bhuttos, Mangrios, Siyals and Syeds with the majority belonging to Bhuttos and Mangrios although both the communities, with the alleged use of force and weapons by Noor Uddin Bhutto, are disallowed social contacts, inter-marriages, family gatherings etc. The Magrios are headed by Saeed Ahmed Mangrio.
Besides, both the tribes are engaged in filing cases upon cases against each other.
There are two groups in the village. One is headed by Mohammad Safar Bhutto who runs a shop inherited from his forefathers and the other is headed by Ghulam Qadir Bhutto and Ghulam Akbar Bhutto who is an agriculture officer at Larkana district.
The school teacher is also allegedly involved in forced sexual activities in the village. However no one can dare raise voice against him as he/she would have to leave the village forever.
The entire story saw the light of the day when Mohammad Qadir Bhutto illegally occupied the ancestral shop of Mohammad Safar Bhutto. And, with the use of weapons, Noor Uddin Bhutto jumped into the matter and got the shop bulldozed.
After the incident, Safar Bhutto ran from pillar to post to get justice. However, the police and local administration did not intervene as the school teacher used his political influence. In the meantime, Ghulam Qadir Bhutto clashed with Safar Bhutto and his son leaving them seriously injured.
Furthermore, Noor Uddin Bhutto, in violation of the Supreme Court’s order, held a jirga that decided social boycott of Safar Bhutto and his family and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on who would violate the decision of the jirga. After the jirga’s decision, someone shook hand with Safar Bhutto who was then issued with orders of social boycott and a fine of Rs 5,000, the villagers told Pakistan Today. Recently, with the permission of Noor Uddin Bhutto, a villager named Anees-ur-Rehman got registered a false case against Mohammad Safar Bhutto with FIR No 33/2012. The police, on their part, are also harassing Safar Bhutto and his family.
After Pakistan Today ran a story highlighting the atrocities of the schoolteacher, a four-member team of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) visited the area and recorded statements of the villagers. However, the team was not allowed to move freely in the area without the permission of the teacher, sources said.
Interestingly, the education department also wanted to suspend the school teacher. However, PPP’s Agha Siraj Durrani and PML-Q’s Ghaus Bux Mahar intervened and got suspended the expected departmental action against the teacher.
Pakistan Today repeatedly tried to contact Noor Uddin Bhutto and Saeed Ahmed Mangrio to seek their version of the story; however, their cell phones remained unattended.