Staff Report
KARACHI: A boat rally organized by Samoondi Bait Bachayo Tehreek (Save Sea Islands Movement) rejecting the construction of a city over twin islands of Dingi and Bhundar has demanded a reversal of the Presidential Ordinance for the formation of Pakistan Islands Development Authority.
A boat rally of over 25 boats was organized Thursday from Ibrahim Hyderi to the twin Islands, which was participated by hundreds of people including political and social activists, writers, journalists, lawyers, and fishermen. A large number of women were also part of the rally.
The movement consists of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Indigenous Rights Alliance, and Aurat Foundation. PFF hosted the boat rally.
Pak Navy’s force Pak Marines stopped the rally from going to Dingi island by force. Later, the rally was moved to Bhundar island, where participants could not visit the island because of low tide. The leaders addressed the rally from a boat.
Convener of the movement and Chairman PFF Muhammad Ali Shah, Chairman Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party Dr. Qadir Magsi, Leader of Sindh United Party Zain Shah, Jeay Sindh Mahaz Leader Abdul Khaliq Junejo, Khuda Dino Shah, Illahi Bux Bikak and Gul Hassan Kalmati addressed the rally while Pakistan Peoples Party’s MNA Jam Abdul Karim, MPA Raja Razaq, MPA Mahmood Alam Jamot, Fishermen leaders Suhail Jamot, Jan Alam Jamot, Sindhiani Tehreek’s leader Noor Nisa Palijo, Shaheed Fazil Rahu Yaadgar Committee’s Shahnaz Rahu and others participated in the rally.
Speakers said the Presidential Ordinance was against the constitution of Pakistan, which should be reversed immediately. They said that the islands were the property of the fishermen and nobody would be allowed to construct a city over there.
They said that fishermen were not alone. Sindh’s political, social, student, and other unions will standby them. They demanded of the provincial government to reject the occupation of islands in the parliament.
PFF Chairman Muhammad Ali Shah said the federal government’s decision to constitute Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) was unconstitutional and it was against the provincial sovereignty.
He said that it was also decided to construct the city on twin islands on Bhundar (Bundal) and Dingi without any consultation with the Sindh government despite the fact that the area falls under the provincial jurisdiction.
Shah said the islands were part of the Indus Delta, which was a Ramsar site while construction of the city would be a violation of the international Ramsar Convention.
Pakistan has a coastal belt of over 1050 kilometers and there are 300 small and big islands located in Sindh coastal belt that would be taken into control by the federal government.
He said that the former governments had also attempted to construct a city on twin islands, but could not be successful. “We will not allow this government to make its plan successful too,” he said.
It is a fact that Sindh’s islands are property of the people of Sindh, where fishermen have customary rights over them while the provincial government is the custodian of the land and forests. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, provinces have ownership of marine waters starting from the coast to 12 nautical miles and all these islands fall under provincial boundary. Thus, they are property of the people of Sindh and Balochistan.
Along with Dingi and Bundal, these islands are home to thousands of hectares of mangrove forests. These forests are nurseries of fish and shrimps while these creeks from Karachi to Thatta are fishing grounds for the fishermen, he said.
With the construction of a new city, fishermen’s fishing grounds will come to an end along with their pathways. The development of islands and construction of any city would also harm the environment while the livelihood of 800,000 fishermen would come to an end and they would face extreme poverty.
