Late on 5^th July, the two bodies of the peasants killed by army in Okara were handed over to the families after 48 hours of the incident. This was also due the 10 hours long Dharna, (sit in) of over 8000 peasants at the main GT Road demanding justice for the tenants of the Okara Military farms. The two were laid to rest afterward in the presence of thousands attending the funeral.

Military Farms Okara administration were keeping the bodies of Noor and Hasan for over two days, the two tenants from village 15/4/L Military farms Okara and forcing police to register the case against the leaders of Anjman Mozareen Punjab. The body leading the struggle for land rights for over 14 years. And they were successful.

A Police FIR have now registered against 28 main leaders of AMP, including Mahr Abdul Sattar general secretary, Nadeem Asharaf, vice president, Malik Salim Jakhar, vice president and Husnain Sarwer, a local journalist who sent accurate reporting of the incident to Nawai Waqat daily. His father late Sarwer Mujahid died 4 years earlier after he was denied medical treatment during his jail period and his one leg was cut. He was also charged supporting the struggle of the tenants.

According to the information received, on 3^rd July, over 1000 army men entered the village 15/4/L while firing on peasants, searched all homes and abducted 59 peasants. They were released by the army after the sit in along handing over the bodies. The army men wanted to crush the resistance of the peasants who were protesting against the possible eviction of 40 peasant families from the land given to them on contract by Military Farms administration.

These families were earlier evicted from a nearby village taken over by Okara military Cantonment administration and to compensate these families were given some land on contract by Military. When military wanted to increase the contract amount unilaterally, the peasants protested and present depute started.

The military took a very offensive stand and fired directly on the peasants and killing the two in the village. The army men would have seen the this month’s Lahore experience where police fired on protesting religious activists and as a result of police firing 12 were killed in day light right at the center of Lahore. So if police could do, why not army.

After the incident, the army took the two bodies in their control and asked the police to register a case against the main leaders of AMP. This has been the case earlier as well. When ever a tenant is killed, the leaders are booked in false cases.

After a wait of two days, over 8,000 peasants are on the roads and demanding justice for the families, to register a case against the army men involved, handing over the bodies for burial, disbanding of military farms and land to the tenants.

This is not the first time that army has fired on the tenants. 20 peasants have been killed in the struggle for land rights in Okara district since the struggle started in the year 2000. Under Musharraf regime, the Anjman Mozareen Punjab (AMP) struggle was one the the glorious example of sacrifices and consistent struggle against military domination on agriculture land.

Both Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif promised to give them the land that they were cultivating over 100 years and still they are not the owners of the land. Both the parties of Bhutto and Nawaz failed to honored the promise although both has tasted the power at center and province level.

The sad and unfortunate incident has taken place at a time when both houses of parliament has just passed a controversial law, “Pakistan Protection Act”. It gives unprecedented powers to police and military. They can keep any person without warrant for two months, search any home without court permissions, can kill any on order of a grade 15 officer and so on. Several comments on the social media after this incident are made that PPA has been tested in Okara.

Awami Workers Party has lent support to this movement from the very beginning. It has mobalised support for the movement for over 14 years. It would not leave them alone again at this testing and challenging times.

We demand a registration of murder charges against the army men involved in the incident, and their arrests, hand over the bodies, no to business activity of army, land to the tenants and an end of feudalism and capitalism.

Farooq Tariq