Daily Times

Ever since the latest series of arrests started in Okara in the summer of 2016, activists associated with trade unions, leftist political parties and rights organisations have been complaining about a nexus between the district bureaucracy, police and the military farms administration.

The latest development in one of the many cases filed against peasant leaders including Mehr Sattar, who has consistently been pulling impressive votes in election from the area, gives credence to these concerns. Last week, Sattar, some other leaders of the Anjuman Mazareen and an Urdu daily’s reporter from Okara were acquitted by an anti-terrorism court from charges of possessing explosives because the police remained unable to bring any evidence against these men. While reports suggest that the reporter has finally been released, Mehr Sattar remains incarcerated at a high security prison in Sahiwal. Activists have highlighted that he is the only under trial prisoner at the facility that otherwise houses those convicted of terrorism. Going by the absolute failure of the Police Department in bringing forward any evidence of a crime, let alone a terrorist act, committed by Sattar and others, it is of paramount importance that he should immediately be removed from the Sahiwal prison and instead shifted to a lock-up in Okara where his family can meet him. Besides, the delay in dispensation of justice in the matter is also extremely troubling. Considering the outcome of the recent case, and the similar fate of an earlier case against Noor Nabi, another leader of the AMP, the criminal and terrorism cases against peasant leaders stand of extremely weak grounds. Indeed, the impression one gets is that Sattar, Nabi and other peasant activists are just being punished for exercising their constitutional rights. The peasant households have been demanding ownership of state land they have tilled for multiple generations. That is a most reasonable demand, except that the military farms administration has a claim to the land rooted in the colonial history of the region. The land was leased to British Indian Army for farming purposes in the early 20th century. The lease term was renewed but its record remains nonexistent from the time of the partition up till now.

For all intents and purposes then, the ownership of the land is disputed, and the peasants have a reasonable claim, given that it’s the labour of their successive generations that made the land cultivable in the first place. The least our executive, legislative and judicial authorities can do in such an instance is to offer a dignified and an honourable chance to the peasant leaders to present their case to the Pakistani public. That requires immediate transfer of Sattar and others from high security prisons, withdrawal of terrorism charges in all cases registered against them, and an impartial and an immediate investigation, under observation of rights activists, of these cases so that justice can be dispensed, without a delay. On request of late lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ordered removal of Sattar’s chains in August last year. Since then, the SC has remained occupied with other matters, while peasant activists remain incarcerated for what may just be their wish to exercise all those rights that the SC aspires to champion these days. We would humbly request the apex court to resume its hearing in the matter and uphold justice, where it is needed the most. *

Published in Daily Times, February 26^th 2018.