The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum is a non-governmental organization that works to advance the goal of social, economic, cultural and political rights of small scale indigenous fisher communities in Pakistan. more
Struggle in Sanghar after the announcement of abolition of the contract system and PFF’s victory
In order to understand this account, viewer is advised to read the text under the heading announcements to abolish the contract system on inland fisheries in Sindh at http://pff.org.pk/node/52.
On 23rd August 2008, Altaf lighari, District police officer Sanghar, phoned to PFF’s representatives and informed that he would not be any more party to any group and said that he would pull out his armed men from the police check posts at Chotiari reservoir. Also Qasim Zardari phoned to the PFF’s representatives and requested for the money that he had spent on deploying policemen and private armed men. Finally, they left the scene.
In the interim, a false FIR lodged against representatives of PFF was converted into B-class in which police investigation officer reported that complainer did not appear before the investigation team and could not provide witnesses against the fishers. With this development, on 23rd August, Chotiari police released two PFF’s representatives who were in police custody for eight days.
On 23rd August, PFF’s representatives including Muhammad Ali Shah, Sami Memon and Abdullah Khoso visited Chotiari police station in company with hundreds of fishers and print and electronic media persons. They staged sit-in in front of the police station and chanted slogans.
PFF’s convoy met with detained PFF’s representatives and then moved to the villages at the Chotairi reservoir. The convoy was comprised of couples of cars and more than fifty motor cycles. On the way to the fishers’ villages, several police pickets were observed where still policemen were performing their due duties against poor and powerless fishers.
PFF’s delegate spent a night with fisherfolks in their village, Phulel, which is completely deprived of all basic facilities. There is no link or connecting road to this village through which fishers could easily access the town. There was no electricity too.
Till late night, stories of success were shared and rejoiced in the gust of folk songs.
Friends from PFF’s secretariat in Karachi shared with the fishers that they were continuously staying in touch with communities and the media, and updated to both sides about the ongoing process of struggle. Particularly media unit extended its support to the struggle through sending press releases and sending urgent appeals to activists, human rights organizations, political parties’ representatives and other well wishers. In response, many organizations and friends, personally put their efforts to end illegal occupation and curfew like situation in which fisherfolks were living miserable lives. In this, the role of Baseer Naveed and his team at Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong is worth mentioning who sent urgent appeals to higher authorities in Pakistan. Moreover, letters were sent to the newspapers on the issue which were published at different times. Things were carefully monitored and pressure was developed on the occupier and police. Besides demonstrations, media was mobilized and friends were convinced to extend their support to the struggle.
Fisherfolk activists also shared their stories of pangs in which their human and basic rights were being violated. They all ensured to each other that until the fishermen are not provided the fishing rights through a proper legislation till then PFF’s struggle will not end.
Struggle against the Contract system in Sanghar, in the retrospect
From the very day, PFF announced its struggle against the contract system, the fishers of Sanghar are seen in continuous action. They welcomed the announcement and remained integral part of the movement against the contract system and are standing firm to achieve the set goal fishing rights to fishers.
They had two days long march from 13 to 14 December 2006 from their villages to the center in Sanghar that covers about 40 miles. The long march surprised all. Besides, on 19th June 2006, 19 buses packed with fishers Sanghar were stopped at Karachi Toll Plaza and several fishers were brutally tortured. These buses were heading to Karachi to take part in a rally against the contract system. Action-Aid Pakistan had recorded those moments when police was brutally beating up the fishers. The footages clearly states how our state curbs livelihood rights of powerless and weaker people through the use of coercive power and forces. On the spot, 18 fishers were arrested and kept into Gadap police station in Karachi who faced the false cases for more than two years and eventually were freed by the Civil Court Malir Karachi on 23rd June 2008.
District Sanghar is famous for extreme type of feudalism and slavery (bondage). Daring to speak up against the existing social set up was equal to the equation of invitation to death. The fishers were fishing in the area for centuries had never imagined being the first to casting the first stone in the silent waters of atrocities and against the system in which their position in the caste hierarchy was down to zero; nearly they were known as an outcaste community in Sindh. They were desperate to come out of this but there was no forum to make it happen. PFF made it possible for them. PFF made them realize that they are equal to all human beings. They have their dignity and can cherish the benefits like other human beings.
Before PFF’s intervention in the area, fishers of Sanghar tried to raise their concerns but not in an organized way, because they had no united platform; their focus was on the rates of the fish catch, not the system that has put them into unending life bondage. But, in result of PFF’s political mobilization activities, fishers of Sanghar came on the streets.
In the history, prior to the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance 1980, fishers of Chotiari used to give ¼ of the total share of the fish to Sindh Fisheries Department. However, there was bit freedom in fishing in this way. After the ordinance in 1980, a local Wadera, Ali Bux Shah got the contract of water bodies scattered in Sanghar taluak. He continued to extend the contract tenure until 6 years.
In the middle of 80s, fishers started getting licenses. Each year, they paid license fees to the same person, Ali Bux Shah, who used to be the contractor of water bodies. Illiterate fishers did not realize that the fees they paid is never handed over to the fisheries department. In the early 90s, fishers learnt that the fees they gave to Ali Bux Shah was never submitted to the fisheries department. In result, licenses system was declared as failure.
On the other hand, Ali Bux Shah, showed his record that fishers owe him Rs3,200,000. In those times, it was huge amount which fishers could never think to pay back and it was all fake record. In order to pay this amount back to Bux Shah, fishermen kept giving him their fish catch for three more years.
In 1992, in Benazir Bhuto’s first tenure, Zawar Zardari, through an open auction got the contract of the lakes. Zawar belongs to Nawab Shah District. After two years, Asif Nizamani and his relatives got the contract that used to be renewed each year. For the nine years, Nizamani had the occupation of water bodies. From the total nine, just for six years, Nizamani had the documented contract of the water bodies.
In 2006, Asif Nizamani, in Sanghar got two years extension and one year fishing rights on the same water bodies. The extension of the contract has to be expired in June 2008. But the one year fishing right permission has been ended by June 2007.
Asif tried to get one more year fishing rights permission but the fisheries department refused his application because the contract system as mentioned earlier was abolished in 2007. In order to get one year fishing rights permission, Asif had filed suit (F.C. Suit No. 61/2007) with the Civil Court Sanghar through which he wanted to have fishing rights of Chotairi reservoir. In the suit, Asif has stated that he had received two years contract extension (from 2006 to 2007) and one year fishing rights from the Fisheries Department Hyderabad.
The case was being continued for 13 months and on each hearing, the civil court judge issued status quo order. Under the status quo, the contractor and the fishers had no right to fish in the Chotiari reservoir. The status quo was questionable as the biased role of the judge. On the last hearing, the court restored the status of the official notification, which means the contract will be abolished and fishers will do the fishing through the license system. While the contractor and Qasim Zardari had forcibly occupied the reservoir and restricted the mobility of fishers of 15 fishers’ villages on the bank of Chotiari reservoir. They did everything to harass the fishers.
In April 2007, when the then CM of Sindh, abolished the contract system, Asif Nizamani in joint venture with Qasim Zardari had started harassing the fishers. Its sole reason was to keep the fishers away from the water bodies that they believed that later or sooner they would take back the contract of the water by using any mean.
From July 2007 to April 2008, 12,000 fishers of 15 villages were harassed and tortured, their paths were blocked, and their fish was taken away. These acts were being done by Wadera Qasim Zardari, Asif Nizamani and their aids under the full support of DPO, SPO, 2 SHOs of Sanghar district. In the given time, 180 cases of fish snatching were observed with 116 fishers. Two false FIRs were registered against 9 fishers in two different cases. They were put into jail and brutally tortured by police and gundas of landlords. On the way to home from the town, not only the male but the females were checked by policemen. In August 2007, near to Harni Bhit area at Chotiari reservior, armed men of Asif Nizamani attacked on the Yameen Mallah and others of Nizamani village. Later they broke two fishing boats by firing on these. But police did not take the report of this and any other incident.
After April 2008, the scale of human rights violation rose too high. In August 2008, Altaf Lighari was appointed as DPO, prior to him was Waliullah Dal in-charge of Sanghar district. Waliullah supported the fishermen and blocked the ways of fish snatchers. He worked for the welfare of fishers but was transferred to somewhere else and Altaf Lighari was put in the place. Altaf’s appointment was done through political influence. With the arrival of new DPO, a wave of criminal activities commenced against the fishers. The fishers did not stay calm but came on the streets. In this regard, on 3rd August, fishers staged sit-in. A day before the sit in, Mangala police stopped two ice-loaded vehicles at the police station, which resulted loss of 160 monds of fish. Armed men of Qasim and Asif wadera were patrolling in the area in police’s company. The curfew, which was never officially been announced, was imposed on August 13, one day before the 61st Independence Day of the country.
That resulted hunger and abject poverty in the fishers’ villages. In the fear of kidnap, torture and extreme humiliation, fishers had abandoned traveling to town for the alternative livelihoods in the absence of fishing. They were completely barred to fish in the reservoir. Their children had left their studies for the same reason.
Fishers speed up their struggle, and used all legal and peaceful means to put an end to the atrocities of police and influential. Besides demonstration, press conferences, appeals, PFF referred to the Sindh High Court (SHC) and filed a case of harassment. On 24 August 2008, the SHC Bench in Hyderabad had issued a notice to Asif Nizamin, Altaf Lighari, Qasim Zardari, two SHOs and the Director Fisheries Department to appear before the court on 8th September 2008. Still the case is in the process, whereas in October 2008, Asif Nizamani and DPO, through different sources reached to PFF representatives and requested for excluding their names from the case.
What is Chotiari reservoir?
The reservoir has a complex terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem in the sandy dune of the desert. It occupies an area of approximately 18000 ha. The reservoir has diversified large and small size fresh and brackish water lakes. These lakes were habitats for crocodiles but still it has otters, fresh water turtles and feeding and nesting grounds for variety of resident and migratory birds.
In 1980, Government of Pakistan as a part of the Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) aimed to construct Chotiari Reservoir for the purpose to provide supplementary irrigation. For this, funds were received from the Asian Development Bank. WAPDA signed contract to construct 55 kilometer embankment around the scattered lakes. On 19 February 2003, the then Prime Minister Zafurullah Jamali inaugurated the reservoir.
