Lawyers announce long march against new canals, PECA tweaks
The protest will begin today (April 17) with a rally from the Sindh High Court to Baberlo Bypass in Sukkur, where a 24-hour sit-in will be held.
At a joint press conference in City Court, leaders from various bar associations-including Karachi, Hyderabad, Malir, and Jamshoro-voiced grave concerns about the unchecked construction of canals, which they say will deprive Sindh of water and devastate agriculture. Karachi Bar Association President Amir Nawaz Warraich said the entire province stands against these projects, which are proceeding without consultation or consent.
Warraich warned that Sindh may soon face severe water shortages, and even basic water access may become unaffordable. In Karachi, a water tanker available for Rs6,000 will not be availabale for even Rs30,000. People must realise the gravity of the situation and rise up to protect their rights. Despite threats and attempts at intimidation, he said, the legal community remains resolute. "Our protest is peaceful, and we stand with the people," he stated.
Other leaders, including Faheem Anar (Jamshoro), Ashraf Khokhar (Hyderabad), and Ayaz Chandio (Malir), echoed similar sentiments, rejecting the 26th Amendment and the PECA Act, which they believe endanger press freedom and democracy. They also criticized corporate farming, alleging that land is being unfairly transferred and water resources are being misappropriated.
The lawyers have demanded immediate reversal of these policies and warned that protests will continue until their demands are met. All bar associations across Sindh have pledged unity and participation in the long march.
Waraich said that after the implementation of the PECA Act, freedom of expression will come to an end, and the media will be reduced to nothing more than state-run PTV. The government's only response to dissent is to shut it down. Referring to the case of a journalist arrested under the PECA Act, he added that they did not wish to pursue any further action after witnessing what happened with the session judge involved in that case.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
PTI founder steps up criticism of ‘establishment'
ISLAMABAD: In a fiery denunciation from behind bars, ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Friday slammed the 'establishment'. In a blistering message posted on X, Khan said 'establishment' is bent on cementing its personal power at the cost of national interest. 'The Senate, the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, and the President – none of them have any constitutional legitimacy,' Khan declared, lambasting what he called a 'sham constitutional court' that manipulated parliamentary seat distribution to rig the political landscape in favour of the military's chosen players. Khan did not spare the Election Commission of Pakistan either, accusing Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja of masterminding an unprecedented electoral fraud and then securing an extension to dodge any accountability. He revealed that an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge has refused to hear his appeals for seven months, a silence he attributed to direct military interference. Condemning the systematic dismantling of the judiciary, institutions, and democratic norms, Khan said the legitimisation of military courts amounted to a judicial self-execution – a 'vote of no confidence' against the judiciary itself. He also alleged that the military leadership has weaponised his wife, Bushra Bibi, in a bid to break his spirit, but vowed he would rather die than bow to what he called 'Asim Munir's monarchy.' Khan dubbed the current rulers a 'Dacoits-and-Duffers Alliance' that has trampled judicial independence through the controversial 26th Amendment. Taking aim at Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, he blamed the cricket administrator for the country's plummeting status in the sports, warning that such unqualified cronies are ruining every institution they touch. He revealed that his calls for dialogue were contingent on the formation of inquiry commissions to investigate the bloody events of November 26, 2024, and May 9, 2023 – events he said were orchestrated under Gen Munir's orders, including the shooting of unarmed civilians. With dialogue now off the table, Khan asserted that the military has completely hijacked the country's system. Khan said he has tasked his legal team with ensuring the protest movement continues unabated, with the goal of restoring justice, the rule of law, and constitutional supremacy. He warned that without popular mobilisation, his party faces slow political extinction. On electoral reforms, Khan reiterated his long-standing demand for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), claiming that their use in the February 8, 2024 elections would have ended rigging once and for all. He urged their immediate adoption to guarantee transparent and fair elections in the future. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
IK alleges inhumane treatment at Adiala Jail
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday alleged that he is being subjected to inhumane conditions during his imprisonment at Adiala Jail, calling it the 'harshest prison term in the country's history,' and urged his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to unite ahead of a planned protest on August 5. In a message shared through his legal team on X, Khan said, 'Never in the history of Pakistan has any political leader been subjected to the treatment that I am currently enduring.' Khan, who has been in custody since his conviction in multiple cases, claimed that he is being denied basic rights, including access to clean water, books, newspapers, television, and contact with his children. He also said that his wife, Bushra Bibi, is being held under 'inhumane conditions.' The former premier, ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and later arrested following a series of legal challenges, compared his situation to that of rival Nawaz Sharif, alleging preferential treatment for the former prime minister despite corruption convictions. Khan said he has been allowed only limited political meetings, restricted to 'certain choice individuals,' and warned party members against infighting. 'Every member of the party must immediately set aside all internal differences and focus solely on the movement planned for August 5th,' he said. 'Anyone found engaging in factionalism within the party will be expelled.' He also criticized the current government, formed after the February 8, 2024 controversial general elections, accusing it of manipulating results and undermining judicial independence through the 26th Constitutional Amendment. 'The so-called government formed through Form 47 has crippled the judiciary,' he said. 'We must launch a robust campaign to liberate the judiciary, for no nation can survive, let alone progress, without judicial independence.' Khan maintains that the PTI secured a public mandate in the February 2024 elections, despite its candidates running without the party's electoral symbol, and urged leaders to reflect the will of the people. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Imran urges leaders to set aside differences
PTI founder Imran Khan has ordered every member of his party to immediately set aside all internal differences and focus solely on the party's August 5 protest movement, "for which no meaningful momentum is being built at present". In a special message dated July 22 released from Adiala Jail, the former prime minister described PTI leaders' internal rifts at this "critical juncture" as "disgraceful and condemnable" and warned that anyone found engaging in factionalism within the party will be expelled. He said he was fighting for the future of our generations, and every sacrifice he made was for that cause. "To create rifts within the party at this time would be a direct betrayal of my mission and vision," he added. According to the PTI founder, the "so-called government formed through Form 47" has crippled the judiciary through the 26th Constitutional Amendment. "The way biased judges are now delivering blatantly unjust verdicts under these courts is visible to the entire nation. We must launch a robust campaign to liberate the judiciary, for no nation can survive, let alone progress, without judicial independence." Imran said his greatest success is that despite unprecedented oppression, the public stands with him. "On February 8th (2024), the people expressed their trust in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by voting for you even in the absence of an electoral symbol. After such a clear mandate, it is the moral and political responsibility of every party member to become the voice of the people," he added. At the beginning of the message, Imran Khan claimed that never in the history of Pakistan had any political leader been subjected to the treatment that he was currently enduring. He said former PM Nawaz Sharif committed corruption worth billions and was nevertheless granted every possible comfort in prison. "In contrast, never before has the innocent and apolitical spouse of a political figure been imprisoned under such inhumane conditions as those imposed upon Bushra Bibi." The PTI patron-in-chief stated that he was enduring the harshest prison term in the country's history solely for the supremacy of the Constitution and in service of my nation. On Thursday, Judge Shahrukh Arjumand of the Special Central FIA Court adjourned till July 26 the hearing of the Toshakhana-II case in which Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are key accused. During the hearing held inside a courtroom in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, both Imran and Bushra were presented. Later, talking to the media outside the prison PTI's Central Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Imran's sister Aleema Khan and PTI Senator Ali Zafar, stated that the Toshakhana-II trial should be declared null and void, as a closed-door trial is a violation of the Constitution and the law. They said Imran's sons, Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Khan, have both confirmed their plan to come to Pakistan. They said it was their constitutional right to meet their incarcerated father. In this regard, a formal constitutional petition is being filed in the Islamabad High Court this week. The purpose of filing the petition is to ensure that the jail authorities have no legal grounds to deny the meeting. The petition is expected to be filed at any time, they added.
