Abdul Rasheed Gaho is a Pakistani fisherman from the Gharo district in Sindh. Several years ago, he was out at sea when he got caught in a storm and was washed ashore on the Indian side of the border. He was arrested by Indian border officials, and after languishing in an Indian jail for several years as a prisoner of war, he finally managed to return home — only to find his wife busy preparing for her second marriage. His friends and family, because of his prolonged absence, had written him off as being dead.

This was just one of the incidents narrated by Muhammad Ali Shah, President of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club where he spoke about the plight of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails.

The killing of two fishermen near the Chashma Link Canal in Punjab sparked protests across Sindh on Monday.

In a statement, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) condemned the murder, demanding of the Punjab government to launch a judicial inquiry into the incident and provide protection to these families.

Hundreds of fishermen families, who migrated from Sindh some 40 years ago, live in vulnerable conditions around the Chashma, Mangla, Taunsa and Shahpur dams, and suffer exploitation at the hands of fishing contractors.

“These fishermen need protection of life and livelihood. The contractors force them to leave the waters,” the statement said.

LAHORE, Nov 2: A consultative meeting seeks chief justice’s sua sponta to abolish contracts of public waters in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtukhuwa and Balochistan, as he took such notice on the waters of Sindh and stopped contracts. In 2007, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, through an independent action, ordered the Sind government to award fishing rights only to indigenous fishermen communities.

Speakers also demanded that the Punjab Fisheries Department follow the Sindh government policy of awarding public waters’ contracts to fishermen instead of wealthy contractors to alleviate poverty in the province.

This is with reference to the article, "Missing the forest for the trees" by Shazia Hasan in the Images section (Aug 10). I was quite heartened to read the article which discusses the important documentary "Murder of Mystic" made on the plight of fishermen and mangroves on the coastal region of Karachi.

The script and the film are important in healing the wounds of poor communities who are bearing the burnt of these issues, especially after losing two dedicated mangrove activists at the hands of assassins in Karachi.