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Sindh Hari Committee struggles for land rights in Pakistan, 2009

media:

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Summary

Between March and July 2009, bonded peasants of Goth Mohammad Essa Khaskheli in Sindh held a multi-week hunger strike at the Karachi Press Club, with the death of hunger striker Wali Daad drawing international attention, until the Sindh government transferred land ownership back to the recorded owners — the first time a Pakistani feudal entity had been forced to return land to its recorded owners. [source: nv-database]

Tactics used

Background

The villagers of Goth Mohammad Essa Khaskheli in Sanghar district of Sindh had farmed and held title to their lands for fifty years when, beginning in 2003, feudal landlord Varyaam Faqir encroached on their holdings, forced bonded labour, and in 2007 sent roughly 200 men to raze homes. [source: nv-database]

What happened

On 22 March 2009, Wali Daad and about twenty villagers began a hunger strike in front of the Karachi Press Club, the country’s main media node, demanding that the Sindh government void false First Investigation Reports filed against them, file an FIR in Wali Daad’s case, provide police protection, regularize village property, and end Faqir’s occupation of adjacent Irrigation Department lands. [source: nv-database] Mainstream Pakistani media initially ignored the strike, then briefly reported it, until Faqir’s intimidation silenced reporters. [source: nv-database]

On 11 April, Faqir’s employees threatened the villagers at gunpoint; Wali Daad fainted, suffered a fatal heart attack and died the next day. [source: nv-database] His death generated international coverage; villagers laid his shrouded body in front of the Press Club before Sindh ministers Shazia Marri and Tauqeer Fatima visited the camp, promising compensation of 100,000 rupees, an FIR, and a land lease within a week — promises that produced nothing. [source: nv-database]

On 20 April, seventy villagers restarted the hunger strike, now backed by PILER, Shirkat Gah, the Joint Action Committee Karachi, and pro-bono lawyer Justice Rashid Rizvi. [source: nv-database] On 7 May, Faqir and several co-accused were briefly detained over Wali Daad’s death but escaped police custody. [source: nv-database] On 15 July, without warning, Sindh ministers signed land ownership over to the villagers — a first in Pakistani history — setting a precedent for similar villages facing jagirdari occupation. [source: nv-database]

Key people & organizations

  • Wali Daad of Khaskheli (hunger-strike martyr) [source: nv-database]
  • Sindh Hari Committee [source: nv-database]
  • Joint Action Committee Karachi [source: nv-database]
  • Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) [source: nv-database]
  • Shirkat Gah, Aurat Foundation [source: nv-database]
  • Justice Rashid Rizvi (pro-bono lawyer) [source: nv-database]
  • Feudal landlord Varyaam (Waryam) Faqir (opponent) [source: nv-database]
  • Sindh ministers Shazia Marri and Tauqeer Fatima [source: nv-database]

Outcome

Verdict: won. (9/10 on the GNVAD scale.)

Campaigners received official land rights. Growth occurred through solidarity NGOs but more slowly than hoped. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • A sustained physical presence at a media node (the Karachi Press Club) can convert local land struggles into national stories when paired with a martyrdom and revival of the strike [source: nv-database]
  • State ministers’ verbal promises during a hunger strike are not commitments — those who mount satyagraha-style fasts should plan for empty first concessions and refuse to lift pressure until the deed is signed [source: nv-database]
  • A single documented victory against a jagirdari landlord (the 15 July signature) is a precedent other villages can use, even if it is unevenly enforced [source: nv-database]

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only

Last verified: 2026-07-09