Hundreds of fishermen on Sunday gathered in the coastal Village Kakapir, Keamari Town amid fear of attacks by land mafia supporters and paid tribute to the slain leaders of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Abdul Ghani and Haji Abu Bakar on the occasion of their soyem.
PFF General Secretary Saeed Baloch said since the police seem reluctant to arrest the criminals involved in the killing of their activists, fear of more attacks also prevail. "The assailants are at large and we have information that some armed people were seen wandering in the area on Saturday night to target PFF activists. We have conveyed this to the government authorities and the international human rights campaigners to take the issue on the priority," Baloch said.
The PFF leaders are assassinated because they raised voice against land mafia involved in cutting of mangrove forests. "It is the issue of environment conservation. PFF Chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah, Kausar Sadiq, Khuda Ganj Shad and others were present on the occasion.
Meanwhile on the call of PFF activists observed Black Day in all the major cities and district headquarters to condemn the murder of PFF campaigners. Reports received here said fishermen activists from different water bodies of Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Sanghar, Qambar, Sukkur, Kandhkot and other areas along with other civil society leaders condemned the incident and demanded to protect natural resources.
In Gwadar a large number of fishermen staged a protest rally to express solidarity with the Karachi fishermen. PFF chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah said the two leaders were killed because they were struggling to protect mangroves along the129-km long Karachi coast.