Pakistan: Climate march in Karachi urges for immediate environmental action
Oct 29, 2024
Karachi [Pakistan], October 29 : The Pakistan Maholiati Tahaffuz Movement organized a climate march against the Pakistan government to highlight the issues of climate emergency, hunger, and poverty in Karachi.
As reported by the Dawn newspaper, the movement collaborated with Yasir Darya's Climate Action Centre.
Yasir Darya participated in the march on Sunday and said, "I am happy with the turnout and glad that people are now taking climate change seriously."
According to the Dawn, victims of the demolition drive along with Orangi Nullah were also present in the march.
Naveed, the victim of the demolition drive said, "My daughter is all grown up now, and I have no idea how she will ever get married, as we've been displaced for four years. We were never compensated for our losses, and no government official ever came to our door to explain why this was happening to us. So, we've shown up here in hopes that our voices will be heard -- though, honestly, I feel very hopeless."
The fishing community was also presented in the protest as they were demanding the protection of marine life and their livelihood.
As quoted in the Dawn, Kulsoom Bibi from Sindh said, "We spend seven days a week at sea, and you tell me -- if there's no marine life left to catch, how will we feed ourselves? The contamination is killing marine life, and, as a result, our livelihood is disappearing. We need to save the planet so that we don't end up starving."
The Pakistan publication reported that Nooruddin, a citizen from Jacobabad, protested against corporate farming, supporting the occupancy rights of landless farmers.
He further added that the land mafias have stolen their resources, adversely affecting the poor local farmers.
Ahmad Shabbar, Pastor Ghazala and Yasir Hussain addressed the march and urged for immediate climate action. They also highlighted the issues of hunger, poverty and landless farmers.