Haq Do Tehreek chief warns of sit-in against ‘interference’ in civil bodies – Pakistan

QUETTA: Gwadar MPA and Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) leader Maulana Hidayatur Rehman has threatened a sit-in on the Coastal Road from September 5 if the alleged interference of army officers in government affairs does not stop.

At a press conference in Quetta on Saturday, Mr Rehman alleged that military officers are managing the affairs of various government departments including education, health, public health engineering and water in his constituency.

He alleged that officers of the ranks of colonel and brigadier interfered with the Ministry of Education to appoint their favourite persons as headmistresses of a girls’ school in his native Surbandar area.

The Haq Do Tehreek leader said despite annual expenditure of Rs 180 billion on security, the law and order situation was deteriorating.

“People’s dignity, lives and property are not safe, and the security forces have failed to restore peace and stop the killing.”

Allegations that senior army personnel interfered in matters of education, health and other departments in Gwadar

“Now they are interfering in politics, district administration and other departments,” he alleged, adding that politicians should be allowed to do their job.

The MPA said he was “not a Form 47” but a true representative of the people of Gwadar. “I will not compromise on the rights of the people under any circumstances.”

According to Mr Rehman, other political parties will also support his sit-in, which will continue until his demands are met. These include military intervention in government services, restoring electricity supply, tackling the trawler mafia and tackling unemployment.

He alleged that 70 percent of Gwadar’s waters are under the control of the trawler mafia, which is ‘stealing’ fish worth Rs 200-250 billion and destroying the marine ecosystem.

The trawler mafia has left local fishermen destitute and despite repeatedly informing the government, Mr Rehman claims that no attention has been paid to this serious problem.

Published in Dawn, September 1, 2024