LARKANA/HYDERABAD/MIRPURKHAS/TANDO MUHAMMAD KHAN/SUKKUR – (NAZIR SIAL, HAFEEZ SHAIKH, AFAQ AHMED and MUHAMMAD MEHBOOB )- A strike was observed across Sindh on Wednesday on the call of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz against the eerie death of its chief Bashir Khan Qureshi following a conspiracy in the lab report findings.
All shopping centres, markets, bazaars remained closed in the province, while attendance at both government and private institutions thinned out as local transport remained off the road. Filling stations also closed down their services to avoid any damages. The day witnessed scores of JSQM workers arrested after incidents of aerial firing and arson attacks sown panic in certain Sindh districts.
Supported by the Sindh United Party, Jeay Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party and other nationalist parties, the JSQM took out protest rallies across the province against what it termed as the “murder” of its chief.
The strike also forced the education boards of Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad to postpone Wednesday’s papers because there was nothing to ferry students to examination centres. A number of people were reportedly wounded in cracker blasts in Dokri teshil of Larkana, where personnel of the Sindh Rangers and police were deployed to ensure security.
In Hyderabad, unidentified miscreants resorted to aerial firing and arson attacks. They also pelted stones on passing vehicles and burnt tyres in different neighbourhoods in the city and Qasimabad. A motorcycle was also set on fire on Hali Road near Sabzi Mandi. Hyderabad police claimed to have rounded up five JSQM workers involved in the attacks.
In Larkana, Kamber Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Jaccobabad, Noshehro Feroz, Ghotki, Kashmore, Dadu and Khairpur a complete wheel-jam and shutter-down strike was observed.
In their speeches, nationalist leaders condemned the attitude of the Sindh government and Health Department, saying the death of the JSQM chief was being used a tool to stop the nationalists from their struggle for freedom of the Sindhi people. They demanded that the events leading to the death of Bashir Qureshi be probed by a judicial commission.
They said that the demise of the JSQM chief caused irreparable losses to their freedom struggle. They said he had been peacefully working for the noble cause of liberation and the rights of his people.
In Mirpurkhas, a protest rally was taken out by the JSQM and other nationalist parties from Jarwari Shaikh Chowk to the Press Club. The demonstrators were carrying banners and placards. Led by Kanji Rano Bheel advocate, Zeeshan Leghari and Manzoor Memon, the protesters raised slogans against the government. The protest rally, while marching through different roads, culminated at the Press Club, where the leaders strongly condemned the government and termed the death of JSQM chief Basheer Khan Qureshi as a murder. They alleged that secret agencies were involved in the murder. They asserted that the state was behind the killing of nationalist leaders.
In Jhuddo Town, a partial strike was observed. In the morning, several markets and bazaars opened but they were forced to close down as JSQM activists resorted to aerial firing. As a result, a man, namely Zafaryab, was fatally hurt. Jhuddo police apprehended three JSQM activists, including Ashfaque Leghari and Yar Mohammad Leghari, who were released afterwards when the dispute was settled.
In Digri, Tando Jan Mohammad, Kot Ghulam Mohammad and Mirwah Gorchani Town, a complete strike was observed. Strict security arrangements were made by SSP Mirpurkhas Riaz Ahmed Soomro as patrolling was intensified while the police were checking vehicles at entry and exit points to the city.
In Tando Muhammad Khan, JSQM workers held a protest demonstration and rejected cardiac arrest as the cause of their chief’s demise. They demanded a thorough investigation into the eerie death. Incidents of firing and cracker attacks were reported in Nasirabad area, at Lakhat bus stop and on Hyderabad-Sujawal Road.
In Sukkur, roads and streets wore a deserted look when unidentified men resorted to indiscriminate aerial firing.
Auto-rickshaw drivers were seen overcharging from commuters as buses were not available. A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Pano Akil and Rohri towns. No business activities took place. Over 50 JSQM workers were arrested on the charge of pelting vehicles.