Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took notice of the “very legitimate demands” of the “fishermen of Gwadar” as the protest of the locals in the port city for their basic rights entered its 28th day.
The protest, which began roughly a month ago, saw tens of thousands of people, including women and children as well as fishermen, march on the main roads and streets of Gwadar on Friday in support of their movement.
Their demands range from the presence of large fishing trawlers encroaching on their livelihood to lack of health facilities and drinking water.
Led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, Balochistan general secretary of Jamaati-Islami, the protesters have vowed to continue their protest till the achievement of their rights.
The prime minister tweeted that he had taken notice of the “legitimate demands of hardworking fishermen of Gwadar”, adding that the authorities would take “strong action against illegal fishing by trawlers”.
He said that he would also speak to the provincial chief executive on the matter.
Rehman, who is leading the Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek (Give Rights to Gwadar Movement), had told media the protest would continue until the acceptance of two major demands including action against “trawler mafia” and resolution of issues on Iran border from the overall 19 demands.
Meanwhile, Adviser to the Chief Minister on Home and Tribal Affairs Mir Ziaullah Lagau told a press conference on Sunday that the protesters had a list of 19 demands, 16 of which had been accepted by the government.
With regards to one of the remaining complaints about illegal fishing by trawlers in the port city, the adviser said Maulana Rehman had recently admitted during a meeting that illegal fishing by trawlers had declined but at the same time, he feared a surge in the activity if protesters ended their demonstration.
“To which, I responded that I am not responsible for it,” Lagau said.He highlighted that another demand pertained to boats and vehicles that had been confiscated by the authorities under the Customs Act.
“I conveyed to them we cannot do anything about it as this was out of our domain,” the adviser said.
