Plundering of Sindh’s Lands: From Corporate Farming to Bahria Town: SANA

Zulfiqar Khawaja said that “We consider Irfan Laghari and Zahid Laghari as martyrs, and we condemn their killing.”

An online seminar was organized by the SANA Advocacy and Rights Committee on the topic “Plundering of Sindh’s Lands: From Corporate Farming to Bahria Town.” At the beginning of the program, Committee Chairman Zulfiqar Khawaja said that “We consider Irfan Laghari and Zahid Laghari as martyrs, and we condemn their killing.” He requested all participants to observe a one-minute silence in their memory.
Dr. Maqbool Halepoto, President of SANA, in his welcome address, said, “Sindh is our land – if we lose the land, the Sindhi people will cease to exist. Our land is gradually being taken from us, and we will do whatever is necessary to stop it.” He warmly welcomed all the honorable guests.
Syed Zain Shah, Chairman of the Sindh Action Committee, said, “I will talk about the current government’s era, when the issue of land grabs began five years ago on the Jamshoro-Karachi Road. We protested peacefully outside Bahria Town, but the government instigated violence to damage our movement and began evacuating local people from their lands. The basic concept of SIFC is against the Constitution of Pakistan, the federation, and provincial autonomy. Its components are also against provincial rights, including the Green Initiative. The new command area of Sindh and Baluchistan is 13.6 million acres, with 12 million acres in Sindh. These projects will destroy two-thirds of Sindh’s barrage water and wipe out the delta, ending the livelihood of the fishing community.

There has been large-scale migration, and in Badin, Sujawal, and Thatta, land has been allotted to non-locals under this project, displacing locals by force. Now, the government is trying to crush the movements for Sindh’s rights by labeling them as anti-state. The state has planned to provoke violence in this movement to suppress it. But we are committed to nonviolence and will continue our peaceful struggle. Last week, in Badin’s Ahmed Rajo, where 2,500 acres were allotted, we started a nonviolent protest with the local affected people, and we will do the same in other locations.”
Syed Khuda Dino Shah, President of the Sindh Indigenous Rights Alliance, said, “Land grabbing in Karachi started during British rule. At that time, Karachi had 92 dehs with vast grazing lands. After partition, 54 dehs and the city center were handed over to federal control, while 45 dehs were colonized for non-locals. KPT and Port Qasim occupied large areas, with 64,000 acres seized for Port Qasim alone. After the formation of MDA, Bahria Town was granted 16,000 acres, but they took over 43,000 acres – even encroaching on protected Kirthar National Park land. Recently, 15,000 acres in Jamshoro have been given for an industrial zone. The village settlement scheme has been abolished under a special act.”
Syed Nadeem Shah, Senior Vice President of the Sindh Abadgar Board, said, “IRSA shows a 30% water shortage every April, but at Kotri Barrage, the shortage is 70%. Sindh is drying up while Punjab is flowing water through link canals.Canals are being deliberately broken to flood Punjab. Sindh doesn’t even have drinking water. Our crop production is drastically reduced. Under corporate farming, such crops will be introduced that will leave only grass for the people of Sindh to eat.”
Asad Shaikh, General Secretary of SANA, expressed solidarity with these brave warriors of Sindh, saying, “SANA salutes your struggle in these tough times.”
At the end, a resolution was presented by ARC Chair, which:
• Paid tribute to the martyrs of Moro,
• Condemned their murder,
• Demanded the cancellation of lands given for corporate farming,
• Called for the cancellation of illegal Bahria Town allotments,
• Urged that fines collected from Bahria be used for local people’s welfare,
• Demanded regularization of Sindhi villages in Karachi and compensation to affected communities.
All participants unanimously approved the resolution.
Information Secretary Habib Memon thanked all guests and affirmed that SANA will continue organizing such programs in the future.