Activists, students demand Siraiki province

ISLAMABAD: With almost three weeks left to the general election in the country, Siraiki activists and students on Friday organized a rally for the recognition of Siraiki national identity and establishment of Siraiki province.

They demanded Siraiki province to end the deprivation, marginality and discriminatory treatment being meted out to Saraiki-speaking people and for making Pakistan a balanced federation.

The rally, started from Melody Market and culminated at D-Chowk, was jointly organized by Siraiki Student Alliance (SSA) and Siraiki Suba Sang Committee (SSSC).

The demonstrators were carrying placard inscribed with slogans in Siraiki language: “maikoon aakh na punj-daryaiee (don’t call me Punjabi), assaan qaidee takht Lahore day (we are the prisoners of Lahore throne), and jhokaan theesen aabad wal (prosperity will come to our land again).

Safdar Klasra, a representative of SSSC, said the hegemonic rule of Takht-i-Lahore (throne of Lahore) was robing Siraiki people of their land, water and other resources. “Our rakhook, communal lands, are being allotted to the non-locals, our share of canal water is taken away by central Punjab, and our annual share of Rs. 500 billion in National Finance Commission (NFC) is being usurped by Punjab,” he claimed.

Arslan Niazi, a student of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, said Takht-i-Lahore was discriminating against the Siraiki youth in provision of jobs, depriving Siraiki children of their right to primary education in their mother tongue, and denying the Saraiki-speaking area its share of medical, engineering and higher education institutions.

Chacha Shafi, a labourer from Layyah representing workers said that our own province would create opportunities for local employment in their region, and Saraiki workers would not have to face the threat of being killed thousands of kilometers away in foreign lands due to hunger and poverty.

Arslan Munawar, a student of Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, said despite being rich in natural resources and agriculture production, the Saraiki-speaking area lagged far behind central Punjab in terms of basic amenities like health and education, road and communication infrastructure, and job opportunities.

Adeesa Niazi, a student from QAU, said being the centre of historical Indus Valley our recognition and self control over local resources should be acknowledged. We should move from homogenity & celebrate the diversity inherited by the country.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Beenish Rubab, Maher Aqib, Bilal Gurmani, Asad Jutah and Malik Asghar.  

Dominance of Punjab, they said, was not only perpetuating exploitation and backwardness in Siraiki area but also undermining the federation of Pakistan. Creation of Siraiki province will guarantee both prosperity of Siraiki people and strengthening of the federation, they said.

They urged the Siraiki people to cast their vote only for those political parties, which support the creation of Siraiki province and reject the ones who have historically been its opponents.

Apart from the university students, a large number of children, women, lawyers, journalists, poets, writers, artistes and the activists hailing from the twin cities also participated in the rally.