LARKANA: Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) senior vice chairman Dr Niaz Kalani has said that the movement against influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sindh from North Waziristan and other areas would be intensified in the next phase starting Aug 22.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday along with another party leader, Saghar Hanif Burdi, Dr Kalani said almost all Sindh-based political and nationalist parties making the Sindh Bachayo Committee (SBC) were fully participating in the movement, which had succeeded in curbing the current IDP influx.

The SBC, he added, was making arrangements for the Sept 29 sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly to demand legislation against shifting and settling of IDPs in Sindh.

He claimed that official figures put the number of ‘outsiders’ present in Karachi alone at three million.

He observed that the law and order situation in Sindh was deteriorating with incidents of robbery and kidnapping in many districts being on the rise.

Explaining JSQM’s views on alleged injustices with Sindh, Dr Kalani said that the province suffered excessive gas loadshedding despite the fact that it had an 80 per cent share in the country’s natural gas production as against Punjab’s just 4 per cent.

“Sindh has only 500 while Punjab has 2,100 CNG stations. Much of the gas utilised by Punjab goes to its industry,” he said.

Owing to such injustices in almost all sectors, he added, 80 per cent population of Sindh lived below the poverty line.

He regretted that the Supreme Court did not take a suo motu notice of JSQM founder chief Bashir Khan Qureshi’s mysterious death three years ago.

JSQM Larkana district chief Mumtaz Shaikh, Jamil Gaad and other party leaders were also present.

Published in Dawn, August 12th , 2014