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Awami Tehreek Thatta and Sujawal activists began their three-day long march by taking out processions in different parts of Thatta and Sujawal districts of Pakistan's Sindh province on Tuesday, reported The Dawn.
The processions were a part of protests against the settlement of non-natives in Sindh, the usurpation of the rights of the indigenous people and the Pakistan People's Party government's attempt to tear apart Sindh's integrity. The processions which were initially held in different areas of both districts, converged in Pakistan's Thatta where the party leaders made speeches to the gathering and said the party aimed to create awareness among people against the conspiracies being hatched by anti-Sindhi forces to deprive the province of its unique culture, resources and integrity. The people of Sindh should wage a war against all such forces who have brought Sindh's progress to a halt, the party leaders said. They said that a party has been imposed upon Sindh and allowed to plunder its resources and that there was no one to ask them about their corruption. Awami Tehreek (AT) secretary general Noor Mohammad Katiyar said that bifurcation of Sindh would not be tolerated at any cost, reported The Dawn. According to The Dawn, Katiyar noted that the reunion of Muttahida Qaumi Movement factions would plunge Sindh back into the era of darkness and insurgency. "PPP government has never raised its voice for the rights of Sindh because it can push their government into hot water," he said. Katiyar said that under the support of the provincial government, influential land grabbers had occupied thousands of acres of land across the province. Mitha Khan, senior AT leader said they had launched the long march to wage a struggle for the protection of people's rights and it was their constitutional right. Widespread protests have also been launched across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's (PoK) Gilgit Baltistan against the Pakistan Army and ISI. There have been large-scale demonstrations against the illegal land acquisition by Pakistani security agencies. The Pakistan Army has been grabbing land from the locals for years, but this is the first time the locals have risen against the Army. In Minawar village of Gilgit, the locals confronted the Gilgit Scouts and Pakistan Army personnel when they came to demolish the properties of the local residents. They even raised slogans against the Pakistan Army and accused them of occupying their land. One of the protesters said that Pakistan Army "is forcefully occupying our houses and agricultural land". "If any untoward incident occurred, the Pakistan Army will be responsible. The Chief Secretary must come to resolve this issue; else we will take this matter in front of the Prime Minister of Pakistan," the protestor added. (ANI)
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