Karachi Fisher Community Fights for Fishing Rights

On 19 June 2006 law-enforcing agencies used force in Karachi against the fisher folk community, demanding the abolishment of contract system in fisheries.

About 30 fisher folk including women were arrested in the outskirt of Karachi after a brutal baton charge in which many people including women & children were injured. This protest was organized by Pakistan fisher folk forum. According to organizers this rally was planned from the tomb of Jinnah the founder of country to the Sindh assembly building where the provincial budget session was going on.

Fisher folk community is struggling for the restoration of their rights on fishing since last two years. During this struggle they have many successes including the occupation of fresh water lakes & delta by Pakistan rangers the Para military force that had occupied these livelihood resources of local fisher folk community.

On the other hand Sindh government has announced to continue it’s policy of contracting the fishing rights to it's supporters & fisher folk community specially Pakistan fisher folk forum has announced to resist it in every district at the time of bidding.

The auction is in direct contradiction of the Sindh government's promise made on 21 February, 2005, when it assured that inland fishing rights will not be auctioned to private contractors thereby depriving thousands of poor fishermen and family-members from their only source of livelihood.

The action by the Provincial government is unchallengeable owing to the complete absence of a trustworthy judiciary in Pakistan. The judicial authority for review and revision, particularly of orders made by the Government and its various offices, has seen its effectiveness nullified by the destruction of the Constitutional authority of judges in Pakistan.

It is expected that some 1260 fishing spots, traditionally used by local and indigenous fisher folk, will be sold to private contractors during this auction. This will rule out the possibility for anyone other than the contractors to fish in these places for a period of one year. This also implies that a minimum of 200,000 people who depend on traditional fishing will find it impossible to fish and will be forced out from their traditional occupation.

It is also expected that many will suffer from acute starvation as a direct result of the poverty forced upon them. Most of these private contractors and their representatives hold no concern for the ordinary fisher-folk of Pakistan or the country's economy and its natural wealth.

In Pakistan, where the basic law is suspended and no legal or legislative remedies are ever possible, the ordinary people are left at the mercy of the ruling elite and their henchmen. The international community, while being aware about Pakistan's role in support of the war against terrorism, is oblivious about the plight of some two hundred thousand people in Pakistan who will now find it difficult to ensure a meal each day. Aslam Khwaja writes from Pakistan: lathrolakATyahooDOTcom

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Posted by collective at June 24, 2006 11:41 PM