HRCP backs Cholistani communities’ charter seeking land and water rights

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has supported a broad charter of demands presented by the Muttahida Cholistan Council, calling on the federal and Punjab governments to address what it described as the long-standing marginalisation of Cholistan through a rights-based development framework.

In a statement issued on Monday, HRCP said the demands of the council, which brings together six community-based organisations, were in line with findings from the commission’s own fact-finding visits to the desert region. Those visits documented persistent shortages of water, insecure land tenure, weak health and education services, and the exclusion of local residents from decisions affecting their livelihoods.

The commission urged the provincial and federal governments to engage meaningfully with Cholistani communities and ensure fair access to resources while protecting livelihoods and the rights of women, religious minorities and trans persons.

Land, identity and governance demands

The council has sought constitutional recognition of the people of Cholistan’s rights over their land and has also called for the restoration of the region’s original name, Rohi. It is seeking autonomous status for the Cholistan Development Authority under the 1976 ordinance, with executive powers for its managing director, and has demanded that half of all jobs in the authority be reserved for local residents.

Among its land-related demands, the council has asked for land allotment charges for desert residents to be reduced to the previous rate of Rs400 per unit from the current Rs5,000. It has also called for agricultural land to be allotted to eligible applicants under the 2019 policy and for the restoration of rights of people displaced since 1978.

The charter opposes corporate farming, land grabbing and the conversion of communal grazing areas. It calls for protection of traditional pasture lands, livestock and local water resources, as well as the cancellation of grazing leases granted to foreign countries.

Water, services and representation

The council has demanded a permanent canal water supply for Cholistan, including implementation of a previously approved allocation of 250 cusecs of water, which it says is necessary for farming, wildlife and human settlements. It has also sought improvements in access to drinking water through repaired watercourses, greater storage capacity, construction of reservoirs and dams, installation of solar-powered tube wells and reverse osmosis filtration plants in areas with saline groundwater, and the revival of non-functioning water supply schemes.

Its charter also calls for the establishment of boys’ and girls’ colleges, recruitment of local teachers, internship opportunities for Cholistani students, and the upgrading of existing health centres into hospitals staffed with qualified doctors and stocked with medicines. It further seeks expansion of emergency services across the region.

The council has asked for land allotments for widows, divorced women and orphaned children, as well as the establishment of banks, Nadra offices and Rescue 1122 centres for a population it estimates at more than 300,000. Other demands include better mobile and internet connectivity, an end to the permit system for travel within Cholistan, and road development linking newer settlements.

Political and heritage concerns

Politically, the council wants Cholistan to be granted district status and to receive representation in the national and provincial assemblies according to its population. It has also called for recognition of Cholistani identity on national identity cards and measures to preserve the region’s cultural traditions and festivals.

The charter proposes the creation of four new cities in Cholistan under the name Al Sadiq in honour of the last Nawab of Bahawalpur, and urges international development agencies, including the United Nations, to support improvements in health and education in the region.

It also raises concern over the expansion of Lal Suhanra National Park, saying the move could displace local communities, and demands that no residents be evicted because of the project. In addition, the council has called for the repair and preservation of the royal graveyard at Qila Darawar and a wider conservation programme for Cholistan’s historic forts and archaeological heritage.