Larkana in Sindh has witnessed the worst and most torturous act of violence by the Pakistani establishment in the last two days. Yesterday, Sindh police broke into the Larkana protest and beat the peaceful protestors before arresting many of them. Later, some of them were released, including their leader Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar.
The daughters of Sindhi nationalist and teacher, Hidayat Lohar – Sasui and Sorath Lohar – have been protesting in Larkana over his brutal killing at the hands of the Pakistani establishment while he was enroute to his school. The police resorted to violence against peaceful protestors and arrested many of them, including Sasui and Sorath. The viral video from the time of the attack shows Sasui Lohar clamouring in anger as the police brutalized her fellow protestors.
Surprisingly, it has over a month since these protestors are on the road and in the meantine the entire political system in Pakistan, especially in Sindh, has only been on a rampage mode for elections, wins and losses, formation of government, and “quid pro quo” political dealings. The voice and aspirations of the people remains completely absent from the political discourse, highlighting the absolute ignorance and authoritarianism of the Pakistani establishment.
Now, after months the political ecosystem got over with the electoral mismanagement and manipulation and the new puppet on the name of government has been installed by Pakistan Army. And finally it took cognizance of the matter, by abruptly ordering a violent crackdown, knowing the fact that the protest was peaceful.
Although the daughters of Hidayat Lohar have been released, there are a number of others who still find themselves incarcerated for raising their righteous and justice-seeking voices.
Brutal killing of Hidayat Lohar
Hidayat Lohar was a teacher and Sindhi nationalist who was also the leader of Voice of Missing Persons of Sindh (VMPS), an organization dedicated to streamlining the cases of enforced disappearances of Sindhis at the hands of the Pakistani establishment and subsequently raising the voice for their release. Notably, Hidayat Lohar was himself a victim of enforced disappearance as he was abducted by the Pakistan Army on April 17, 2017, before finally being released in July 2019.
On 16 February, when Hidayat was on his way to the school two assailants, riding on a motorcycle, riddled his body with bullets, leading to his death. The incident sparked massive condemnation from across Pakistan and started a protest under the banner of VMPS led by the brave daughters of Hidayat Lohar, Sasui Lohar, and Sorath Lohar.