Pakistan: Awami Tehreek, Sindhiyani Tehreek march against 27th Amendment, corporate farming and 'Assault on Sindh's Resources'

Hyderabad [Pakistan], November 18 (ANI): Activists from the Awami Tehreek (AT) and its women's division, the Sindhiyani Tehreek (ST), held a march opposing the 27th Amendment, corporate farming, new canals on the Indus River, so-called honour killings, and the exploitation of the province's resources, as reported by Dawn.

The march commenced at Jail Road and ended at the local press club on Sunday, where party leaders delivered speeches. AT president Vasand Thari spearheaded it. He declared that the 27th Amendment was "more detrimental than the post-hybrid system and an assault on democracy."

Thari stated that the authorities had corrupted the Constitution, suspended fundamental rights, and controlled the judiciary through the 27th Amendment, allowing them to exploit Sindh's mineral and other resources without accountability. He also remarked that the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was established to sell off resources, lands, and minerals, according to Dawn.

He denounced corporate farming as a plot to seize the land of the oppressed, claiming that millions of acres were being transferred to corporations. He pledged to oppose any efforts to divide Sindh and argued that initiatives like the Kalabagh Dam, Bhasha Dam, and six canals were conspiracies aimed at forcibly taking control of Sindh's water, as reported by Dawn.

Sindhiyani Tehreek President Umra Samoon criticised the SIFC, asserting that it was set up with the backing of the PPP. "The judiciary, rendered ineffective after the 26th Amendment, was transformed into a government court with the 27th Amendment," she remarked.

The rally passed resolutions asserting that the Constitution had been altered, fundamental rights had been suspended, and courts had been weakened, leading to a constitutional dictatorship. The resolutions condemned the lifetime immunity granted to the president and Field Marshal under the 27th Amendment, stating that it "places them above the state, Islamic law, and the 250 million citizens, effectively imposing a monarchy," as mentioned in the Dawn report.

They called for the Constitution's foundation to align with the Pakistan Resolution of 1940. The resolutions also denounced the attack on a lawyers' convention in Sukkur at the "request of the Sindh government".

This attack was labelled an act of terrorism due to the lawyers' opposition to the 26th and 27th Amendments. The resolutions further underscored that the Indus River represents Sindh's civilisational identity and lifeline.

They demanded a halt to all dam and canal projects on the Indus, including the Kalabagh and Bhasha dams, as well as the six canals. They called for the repeal of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act, as well as the withdrawal of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill 2025, and for powers to be retained by the provinces, as noted by Dawn. (ANI)

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