Pakistan: Sindhis protest against govt for converting them into minority in their province

Sindh [Pakistan], August 1 : Rallies by Sindhis were organized on Sunday against the Pakistani government for attempting to convert them into a minority in their own (Sindh) province demanding the expulsion of illegal Afghan immigrants after the killing of 35-year-old Bilal Kaka at a hotel in Hyderabad a couple of days ago.
Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Mirpurkhas chapter took out a procession, while Jeay Sindh Mahaz-Riaz (JSM-R) held a similar rally in Tando Mohammad Khan to press their demand for the repatriation to all illegal immigrants, including Afghans, from Sindh to their country of origin, reported Dawn.
JSQM activists raised slogans against illegal immigrants, the Sindh government and the Hyderabad police.
Dr Niaz Kalani, who led the procession, spoke to the protesters at Post Office Chowk and condemned Sindh government for its failure to take action against illegal immigrants, reported Dawn.
He deplored that thousands of Afghans were living illegally in Sindh and they were even busy in running illegal businesses but the government had not yet taken legal action against them.
"The growing number of illegal immigrants was changing the demography of Sindh," he said.
Kalani said that Sindhi people should remain alert to the situation and if it did not change then all businesses would go into the hands of illegal immigrants within the next few years.
He said that Sindhis would not allow themselves to be changed into a minority in their own homeland and for this purpose the JSQM had launched this campaign along with other Sindhi nationalist organisations, reported Dawn.
He appealed to Sindhi people to join the JSQM struggle and force the government to repatriate all illegal immigrants.
Jeay Sindh Mahaz-Riaz staged a protest rally in Tando Mohammad Khan to press its demand for expulsion of illegal immigrants from Sindh.
The rally was led by party chairman Riaz Ali Chandio, Nawaz Shah Badahi, Mumtaz Brohi, Punhal Jamali and others. A sit-in was also held at Seeratun Nabi Chowk, reported Dawn.
The leaders announced the holding of rallies from Aug 20 to 27 in Jacobabad. Addressing the rally, Chandio said that Afghans had been settled on entry routes of Sindh under planning. He urged the United Nations to press the state for the repatriation of illegal immigrants from Sindh.
He said that Afghans had created their own state at Sohrab Goth and different other areas in Sindh due to which locals were facing terror. He said the PPP government was facilitating their settlement by regularising their localities, reported Dawn.
He said that this was a conspiracy to convert Sindhis into a minority and do away with the existence of Sindhis in their own province.
Chandio said that since the inception of the country, refugees were brought in an artificial manner. He said that now Sindh had 38 pc population of non-Sindhis which was undermining their existence.
He alleged that illegal immigrants were involved in terrorist activities, drug and weapons trade and kidnapping for ransom, reported Dawn.
Notably, shops and hotels, owned by Pashtuns, were forcibly closed by Sindhis as ethnic tensions flared up in several districts in Sindh province following the killing of 35-year-old Bilal Kaka.
Bilal Kaka, a Sindhi youth was shot dead by Pathans at a restaurant over a food bill during Eid-ul-Azah. According to the media reports, the hotel owners allegedly shot dead Bilal Kaka and injured his two friends after a dispute over a food bill at the Super Salateen Hotel near Wadhu Wah near Hyderabad bypass - one of the most popular areas in Hyderabad.
In the aftermath of the killing, there were massive protests registered across the Sindh province. The leaders from across the political spectrum unanimously called for calm, urging people not to let rogue elements disturb the social harmony of the province, reported Dawn.