KARACHI: Hundreds of activists of banned Sindhi organisation Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz recently participated in a march in Hyderabad to demand the release of Sindhi political activists abducted and enforced disappeared by the Pakistani Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wing, and independence for the Sindh province. The rally that began from Sindh University (Old Campus) and ended at the District Press Club, Hyderabad, saw protestors carrying banners and placards that demanded total independence for Sindh.
They urged the United Nations, the international community and human rights organisations to take immediate notice of what they called Pakistani occupation of the province, acts of fascism, state torture, atrocities, besides exploitation of the region's rich natural resources. They also questioned authorities over enforced disappearances and killings of Sindhi freedom activists. JSMM central coordination committee leader Asif Juno addressed the participants even with the Pakistan Rangers and contingents of police trying to stop the march with a heavy baton charge and firing of teargas shells.
Juno said, “Sindh has remained an independent country for ages. It was an independent country since the year 1843 when British imperialism invaded and subjugated it and gifted it to its loyal Punjabi mercenaries in 1947 to keep a hold of Indian Ocean waters. The independence movement of Sindh has been struggling for the restoration of its historic nationally independent identity. Today, Sindh is under theocratic fascist Punjabi occupation in Pakistan in the name of Islam.”
He added, “The Sindhi independence movement is fighting its case on diplomatic and international fronts effectively and the sacrifices, painstaking struggle and voice is gaining international acknowledgement for the historic, ideological and practical perspectives of the 'Sindh Case' in front of the international community and the entire civilised world today. And, that's why Pakistani theocratic, fascist military establishment, army, its savage agency ISI and Rangers (paramilitary forces) have imposed a ban on the JSMM and are practising ruthless barbaric torture against Sindhi political activists by abducting, enforced disappearing, torturing and killing them.” Juno condemned state torture of protestors, as he called it, describing it as “an open violation of the right to freedom of expression and speech.”
“Sindhi political activists are being hunted, persecuted, abducted, enforced disappeared and killed, and even if someone raises his or her voice to appeal to the international community to take action against these Pakistani atrocities, he or she too is tortured, arrested, abducted, enforced disappearances and then killed.”
“The state is rapidly depoliticising Sindhi society, banning secular political organisations, right to freedom of speech and expression; imprisoning, abducting, torturing, enforced disappearing and killing the secular political activists and sponsoring a wide web of theocratic extremist Jihadi madrassas (Islamic Religious Schools) throughout Sindh to radicalise secular Sindhi society. Thousands of JSMM and JSQM activists have been abducted and enforced disappeared by the Pakistan Rangers, Army and the ISI.”
Juno said, “Pakistan is the epicentre of Islamic terrorism, a nuclear proliferator, a graveyard of UN's Charter of Human Rights, theocratic fascism, murderer of historic nations chained in its forced federation, and if the world wants attainment of global peace and annihilation of Islamic terrorism it must have to stop Pakistan and disintegrate it.”
