Activists from various political, social, human rights, and labor organizations staged a demonstration at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday, protesting against the murder of Hidayat Lohar, a prominent Sindhi political activist and intellectual. Simultaneously, Lohar’s family, including his children Sortah, Sasui, and Sarang, held a sit-in in Naseerabad, frustrated by the police’s refusal to register a First Information Report (FIR) for his murder.
Sorath Lohar, speaking at the Nasirabad Highway protest, shared the family’s ongoing struggle with the authorities, “Despite our numerous attempts, the police have consistently disregarded our requests to file an FIR for my father’s murder, Hidayat Lohar. We insist on the immediate filing of an FIR.”
In Karachi, the demonstrators condemned Lohar’s brutal assassination and called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrator(s). They expressed their sympathy and solidarity with the bereaved family. They said that forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings of political activists and innocent citizens have turned the country into a lawless state where no respect for human dignity exists.
They pointed out that entire Balochistan was recently protesting against the murder of four youths and the unending forced disappearances of civilians. However, they lamented, their just and lawful demands were not accepted, which proves that the constitution and law in the country are just pieces of paper, and that the courts have become ineffective.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International called on the Pakistani authorities to conduct an independent, impartial and prompt investigation into the killing of Lohar. On the social media platform X, Amnesty International remarked, “PAKISTAN: Amnesty calls on the authorities to conduct an independent, impartial, and prompt investigation into the killing of Sindhi political activist and teacher Hidayatullah Lohar, and ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable without recourse to the death penalty.”
The organization highlighted the murder as reflective of the dangers faced by human rights activists in Pakistan. “This incident highlights the grave risks that the activists and human rights defenders face in their lives. In 2017, Lohar was forcibly disappeared and returned only two years later, in May 2019.”
Hidayat Lohar, assassinated by unidentified assailants in Naseerabad tehsil of Larkana district on Friday, had been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces from April 17, 2017, to July 2019, a period during which his daughters tirelessly fought for his freedom. The veteran teacher turned political activist had been an active participant in Sindh’s political landscape since the 1980s.