PAKISTAN: The villages of fisher folk are being grabbed by powerful persons from the ruling party

Urgent Appeal Case |Pakistan | January 22, 2011

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case:	AHRC-UAC-008-2011
ISSUES:	Poverty & adequate standard of living,

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the land mafia from the ruling party is occupying the villages of fisher folk by using force and destroying the eco system of the coast by earth filling in the sea and cutting the mangrove forests. One infamous land grabber, Mr. Haji Muhammad Younus attacked a century-old fishermen’s village, the Kakkapir, to vacate the village by its inhabitants, injuring many persons by firing at huts of the village. The police refused to file the FIR (first information report) owing to the involvement of powerful persons. Two fishermen who reported in writing about the incident to the police were searched by the armed men of the land grabbers to punish them for lodging a complaint.
The land grabbers have occupied many villages and encroached upon them to make houses for commercial purposes. A vast area of the coastal line was filled with earth through land filling and converted into commercial areas.

CASE NARRATIVE

Mr. Haji Muhammad Younus and his son Mr. Zulfiqar Younus are activists of the ruling party, Pakistan Peoples Party, and infamous for grabbing land around the coastal area of Mauripur, Karachi and encroaching on the small villages of the fisher folk. Mr. Zulfiqar was also the Town Nazim (Mayor) of Kemari Town during the regime of former General Musharraf for five years. The major coastal area comes under the Kemari town.

On January 16, a group of about forty armed persons headed by Zulfiqar Younus attacked the Kakkapir village at 8.20 pm and fired automatic weapons for almost one hour at the huts, injuring many people. The villagers identified some attackers by name. Some identified armed men include Shakeel Ahmad S/O Siddique, Usman S/O Ali Muhammad, Faqeer S/O Usman, Ramzan S/O Ali Muhammad, Ishaque S/O Hussain, Shafi Muhammad S/O Haji Fazlu, Aslam alias Mamoo Jan S/O Haji Suleman and Majeed S/O Aali. Others can be identified when seen. During the attack they also damaged and fired upon the office of a social organization, working for the welfare and health care of the fisher folk, and looted the valuable assets of the office that costs, according to the villagers, about Rs. 300,000/=.

The local activists of the village informed the police by calling 15 but the officers did not respond to the complaint. Then the leaders of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, an organisation of the fishermen, called police to help and tried to lodge an FIR against the said group but the station house officer (SHO) Maripur, Mr. Nasrullah Khan, not only refused to do so but also insulted and asked the police to throw them out from the police station.

Then hundreds of fishing persons including women and children under the leadership of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum demonstrated against such lawlessness in front of Press Club Karachi on January 18, 2011. In reaction to the demonstration, some drunkard henchmen of the land grabber named Shakeel S/O Siddique, Shafi S/O Haji Fazlu, Muhammad Saleem S/O Urs and others again rushed into the village, abused and threatened the villagers that if any action was taken by the villagers then they would face serious consequences.

Two persons of the village, Haji Abu Bakar S/O Haroon and Abdul Ghani S/O Muhammad Siddique, who first lodged the complaint of attack on January 16, were hiding because the attackers have threatened that those persons will face strong reactions from their group as they have reported the matter to the police.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please write to authorities informing them that the land grabbing belonging to ruling party is harassing the poor villagers of the fisher folk to grab their century-old village through force and intimidation. Please urge upon them to prosecute the police officials of Maripur police station for refusing the right of the aggrieved party to file a complaint and also take legal action against the perpetrators for destroying the eco system by acquiring the filling the sea and cutting the mangroves plants along the coastal area.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Housing rights calling for his intervention into this case.

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SAMPLE LETTER

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: The villages of fisher folks are being grabbed by powerful persons from the ruling party

Name/s of victim:

1.Villagers of the Kakkapir village,

Maripur, Kemari twon,

Karachi-PAKISTAN

2.Haji Abu Bakar S/O Haroon,

Kakkapir village,

Maripur, Kemari twon,

Karachi-PAKISTAN

3.Abdul Ghani S/O Muhammad Siddique,

Kakkapir village,

Maripur, Kemari twon,

Karachi-PAKISTAN

Names of alleged perpetrators:

1.Sub-Inspector Nasrullah,

Station house officer (SHO) Maripur police station,

Karachi, PAKISTAN

2.Haji Muhammad Younus,

Former president of Pakistan Fishermen Cooperative Society,