THATTA: Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Chairman Syed
Mohammad Ali Shah and his three companions were allegedly held hostage
and harassed by a group of armed men when they arrived in a coastal
village near Shah Bandar on Monday “to help fishermen take back
possession of a lake from a wadera”.
Mr Shah told
journalists at Sujawal Civil Hospital where he had brought one of his
colleagues for treatment that he and his colleagues had undertaken the
visit to the area to help local fishermen get their wetland back in the
light of recent directives by Sindh High Court about vacation of lakes
and wetlands from the possession of influential ‘waderas’.
He
said that when they reached Baabli lake, they found earth moving
machines busy expanding the lake under the supervision of a group of
armed men who held them hostage on seeing them and hauled them off to a
nearby Autaq of a wadera.
They held them against their
will for four hours and issued threats of dire consequences before
allowing them to go on condition that they would not tell anybody about
the incident, he said.
He said that immediately after the release they rushed
to nearby Ladyu police station to lodge a complaint but police declined
their request. Later, he informed other officials about the incident,
he added.
However, a villager of the area told a
different story. He disclosed on condition of anonymity that PFF chief
and his colleagues had arrived at the ‘privately-owned’ lake for illegal
hunting. When locals resisted they clashed with each other, he said.
A
press release issued by provincial minister Mohammad Ali Malkani said
that he was not aware about the detention of PFF chief and he was still
collecting facts about what had actually taken place at the lake.
Our
staff reporter in Karachi adds: Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal has
ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident. He asked the
Thatta SSP to hold the inquiry and submit a report to him about the
action taken against those responsible for the “abduction and torture”
of the PFF chairman and his fellows, said a home department release.