A clash broke out between police and villagers after they were forced to evacuate their ancestral village in the Jamshoro district on Sunday.
Strong contingents of local police kept arriving at the spot the whole day to pressurise villagers to evacuate their village reportedly on the behest of an influential figure of the area Aijaz Qazi, who had the patronage of a local Pakistan People’s Party leader.
The villagers staged a massive protest and complained before a media team that many of them were arrested Saturday night and subjected to brutal thrashing by police, telling them they would be released only if they evacuated the village.
They further said that the police had been harassing them for the past few days, but they would never budge from their stance.
The incident drew condemnation from people hailing from different walks of life who called for the intervention of higher authorities against flagrant violation of fundamental rights. Writer and historian Dr. Samina Waheed said that people were fast losing their ancestral land at the hands of a land mafia backed by corrupt politicians.
Ideologist Ruksana Halepoto said that the land of the Kohistani belt of Sindh was of historical significance where people had set up these villages centuries ago and lived there for generations and they should not be deprived of their lands.
Several activities urged concerned authorities to take notice of the issue.
