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After attacking SPC rally and injuring dozens of comrades including female comrades today in Hyderabad Suni Tehreek goons have forced the police officials to launched FIR in police Station Cantt.Hyd. against comrade Bakhshal Thalho, General Secretary Labour Party Sindh, Comrade Taj Mari and N M Khan Dahri.

20 comrades including the three nominated in FIR, have been in police custody in Madadgar 15 Thandi Sarak Hyd till the filling of the report.

Suni Tehreek was initially putting all out pressure on police to register Blasphemy cases against comrades but due to protest from different political circles from all over Sindh the police didn’t use the Blasphemy act.

On the initiative of some senior journalist, comrades from SPC including of LPP comrade are engaged in negotiation through senior journalist at press club with ST to with draw the cases.

On other hand more than 100 comrades have block the main road leading to police station in protest and resolved to continued the blockade till the release of all arrested comrades and registration of FIR against Suni Tehreek goons who attacked the peaceful rally of SPC in evening.

Nasir Mansoor

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Update:

All the detained members of the Sindh Progressive Committee are being released and the FIR is being withdrawn.

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Historical Victory of Pakistani Left - Sindh Progressive Committee (SPC) (A war between Left and Right)

Due to the increasing sectarian violence in which people with different ethnicity especially religious minorities are under the mighty thumb of some religious groups who are either forcing them to convert (recent hot issue of Rinkle Kumari can be referred here) into islam or shooting them with the gun of Blasphemy law.

In order to counter these issue, Sindh Progressive Committee (SPC) held a peaceful protest yesterday i-e; 17^th April 2012 in front of Hyderabad Press Club in which social and political activists of Awami Party Pakistan (APP), Labor Party Pakistan (LPP), Communist Party (CP), Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM), Women Action Forum (WEF), Sindh Youth Network (SYN) and Progressive Youth Forum (PYF).

There were more than 70 male and female activists who were raising the slogans against the sectarian violence and religious extremism like; “Down with Religious Extremism”, “Down with Terrorism” and “Save Rinkal Kumari-Save Sindh”. Suddenly, a small mob of Sunni Tehreek (ST) appeared and asked the activists of SPC not to raise the slogans against RELIGION and started wrangling with the protestors of SPC which created a dispute and within a while this peaceful protest converted into battle war. Activists of Sunni Tehreek (ST) snatched the flags from the activists of SPC and started beating them. During this, some female and male activist got injured and they countered them and this fight took a serious shape.

All of sudden, activist of ST stopped fighting and went back and on other side SPC resumed their peaceful protest. Right after the 10 minutes, a big horrible crowd (more than 100 people) of Sunni Tehreek with weapons and sticks, rushed in front of the Press Club and started beating the SPC activists.

SPC activists took refuge in the press club whereas the angry mob of ST put the tyres on fire and surrounded the press club and raised the slogans “Ghulami-e-Rasool pe, Mout bhi Qabool hai”, and this took a war-look scenario and the people on the streets started shutting their shops, children started running to their homes, bikers turned their bikes and rushed into narrow streets of nearby. Normal city turned into a curfew state.

A veteran social and political activist, Mr. Punhal Sario started transferring the female activists through the back door of press club to the safer place whereas, the rest of 25 activist remained in press club for one hour and later on they were shifted to GOR Police Station Hyderabad and remained in the detention for 8 hours. Meanwhile, one female and 3 hindu activists were released.

ST lodged the FIR against the activists of SPC in four different police stations and then this started restlessness among the activists of different parties and youth groups who started gathering outside of the police station and they staged a sit-in protest in front of police station and blocked the roads. On one side the public pressure was developed and on other side a delegate of civil society activist including Mr. Amar Sindhu, Irfana Mallah, Iqbal Mallah, Dr. Ashothama and Zulfiqar Shah went to the senior activists of ST for the negations to reconcile the issue.

During the sit-in protest, activists started chanting the slogans against the biasness of police and in few moments the number of protestors increased from 50 to 150 and there were the slogans in air like “Long Live Secularism”, “Long Live Socialism” and “Long Live Revolution”. People from different walks of life kept joining the protest which made the police to surrender and release the activists of different left-wing political parties.

However, the police officials came for the negotiation and said that we are not going to register the FIR against the detainees and requested the protestors to withdraw from the sit-in protest. The protestors withdrew from the sit in and the life came back to its normal situation.

All detained comrades of different political parties and youth groups were released including;

· Mr. Taj Marri (Awami Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Hafeez Jataoi (Awami Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Netraj Kolhi (Awami Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Bakhshal Thalo (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Inayat Khoso (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Sarmad Thebo (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Dileep Doshi (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Mubarak Jatoi (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Ms. Kehkashan (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Sanwal Thebo (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Masroor Shah (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Jahanzeb Soomro (Labor Party Pakistan)

· Mr. Suresh Sadhwani (Progressive Youth Forum)

· Ms. Paras Marri (Progressive Youth Forum)

· Mr. Akber Khoso (Jeay Sindh Mahaz)

· Mr. Pervez Solangi

· Mr. Anees Jataoi

· Mr. Adeeb Ratar,

· Mr. Nadar Ali Jataoi

· Mr. Nasarullah Samo

· Mr. Ahmed Ali Rahimo

(There were the comrades from Communist Party and Jeay Sindh Mahaz who were released also. I apologize for not mentioning their names as I couldn’t remember their names properly).

However, it is a historical victory of Pakistani Left which has proved the theory which says “United We Stand” and “Divided We Fall”. My comradely salutes to all those who remained with us in this struggle including the activist of Civil Society and the young activists of different universities.

Comradely regards,

Abdullah Dayo
Spokesperson
Progressive Youth Forum (PYF)

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See for more:

Stop religious bigotry, kidnapping & forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh PR (Karachi)

Joint Statement of Pakistani Progressives in Solidarity with Victims of Forced Conversion to Islam and Against Sunni Tehreek’s attack on Sindh Progressive Committee’s Rally

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