Karachi:Rejecting construction of city over twin islands of Dingi and Bhundar, Sindh’s civil society and political parties have announced resistance against ordinance to constitute Pakistan Islands Development Authority.
In this regard, a joint consultative meeting was organized by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Indigenous Rights Alliance and Aurat Foundation at a local hotel. Chairman PFF Muhammad Ali Shah, Human Rights Advocate I.A. Rehman, PILER’s Executive Director Karamat Ali and others addressed the meeting.
Highlighting the issue, PFF Chairman Muhammad Ali Shah said the federal government has decided to constitute Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) and construct the city on twin islands on Bhundar (Bundal) and Dingi without any consultation with the Sindh government despite the fact that area falls under the provincial jurisdiction.
The federal government’s action is not only against the Constitution of Pakistan but is also against international conventions and agreements, which provide social, economic and cultural sovereignty to the indigenous people, he said.
“The construction of the city and so-called development of islands would deprive around 800,000 fishermen of their livelihood and they would suffer extreme poverty,” he said. 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 government of General Pervez Musharraf had twice attempted in 2000 and 2006 to develop the twin islands but the project could not be successful because of various reasons. Later in 2013, the PPP government had also tried to develop the islands through Malik Riaz but the Supreme Court banned the construction.
It is a fact that Sindh’s islands are property of the people of Sindh, where fishermen have the 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.
With 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.
I.A. Rehman said they consider that development, which improves lives of people and that is not against them. “These islands are property of people. You cannot take them without their consultation,” he said. He said any takeover of the islands will be against the country.
He said that mangroves and fishermen were assets of the country, which should be protected. It is responsibility of the provincial government to save its islands. Pakistan Peoples Party’s senator Dr Karim Khuwaja said that the islands were provincial property but no NOC had been taken from the government of Sindh. “We are against construction of the city over islands,” he said. “These mangroves save us from tsunamis and cyclones.”
He said their legislators would take up the issue in the parliament. Executive Director PILER Karamat Ali said that the project of constructing city was not against the fishermen only it was also against whole people of the province and the environment. It was against political, social and environmental rights, he said.
Sindh United Party’s head Jalal Mehmood Shah, Jeay Sindh Mahaz’s Abdul Khaliq Junejo and other political as well as civil society worker addressed the meeting. The meeting also adopted resolution constituting a five person coordination committee under the chair of Muhammad Ali Shah, which would further decide about the movement.