Anger Against Thar Coalfield Companies Smoulders

Leaders of Communist Party of Pakistan, Sindh Hari Committee and leftists have accused executives of mining firms engaged in coal extraction in different blocks of Thar Coalfields of failing to fulfill their commitments they had with the villagers who had to leave their homes and hearths due to massive mining in their area.

They said that unbridled greed of the corporate sector had always brought miseries upon real owners of natural resources, minerals and fertile lands instead of ushering in any real progress. People in backward areas like Thar had been affected beyond repair and remedial measures, they said. They were speaking at a moot titled Jo Kherre So khae (One who tills land has the foremost right to eat), a popular slogan raised by 17th century Sufi saint Shah Inayat Shaheed, in Islamkot town on Sunday. The CPP general secretary Comrade Imdaduulah Qazi, The eminent historian Dr Mubarak Ali, Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, Gulab Pirzado, Mir Munawar Talpur, Comrade Iqbal, Damromal, Dayal Meghwar and others warned managers of mining firms to stop treating owners of ‘black gold’ like step-children of state.They said that after having usurped peoples’ resources the rulers were now hatching conspiracies to plunder the remaining resources.

The latest move by the federal government to occupy islands of Sindh was not only unconstitutional but also a naked aggression against resources of indigenous people, they said.They lashed out at the federal government for its failure to address grievances of farmers, who were protesting against ill-conceived agricultural policies and import of tomatoes, onions and other vegetables. They said that those, who had been elected during the elections had no concerns about the real issues of the masses but were only interested to safeguard their petty interests and to protect their looted properties. They claimed that even those leaders, who were launching the drive to oust the PTI government under the platform of PDM would stop their ‘activities’ once they were given some green signals from the ‘actual rulers’ and their international masters. ”

The rulers instead of relying on USA and Saudi Arabia should extend their the full support towards China for boosting the economy of the country” they added and said that naive rulers through their flawed policies had broken the back of the poor people. ” The price hike, inflation and black-marketing by the capitalists have made the lives of the people very miserable” they added and asked the rulers to mend their ways in handling the situations.

They asked the government to take action against those, who were involved in land grabbing and depriving peasants of their rights in their share in the harvest.The leaders lashed out at those, who had occupied the government razing lands in Thar desert. They alleged that people of backward areas like Thar were being pushed to the wall and displaced in the name of so-called prosperity and progress. Teachings of Sufi Shah Inayat were a beacon of light for all those who believed in human values and peoples’ right over their resources and land, they said.They said that it was very disappointing to know that people in Thar were compelled to commit suicide and expressed deep concern over unchecked exploitation of the weak and the underprivileged segments of society.

They observed that rulers and those, who had brought them in the power corridors had no sense how to run the foreign affairs of the country. They said that the feudalistic mindset of usurping rights of the downtrodden and the underprivileged was still a big obstacle to an ideal and people friendly society.They expressed deep grief over tragic incidents in the troubled areas of the country and asked the state institutions to provide foolproof security to vulnerable communities living across the country.“Massacre of Hazara community is nothing but genocide of the people of a peace-loving community,” they said and demanded protection for all people living across the country.The leaders said that rulers imposed on the country had no acumen to steer the country out of the deep present crisis facing the country.

They lashed out at Indian forces for atrocities against people of held-Kashmir and demanded international human rights bodies raise their voice for the peasant sand farmers struggling for their rights in various Indian states. Earlier, the moot’s participants took out a rally from Murshid Petrol Pump to Islamkot Press Club where they also staged a demonstration.