Due to coal excavation, local life has completely changed—villages have disappeared, pastures are gone, and the fertile lands that once produced crops after rain have been destroyed
Thousands of locals have been displaced from ancestral lands, yet neither federal nor Sindh governments have taken steps to resettle them.
By Haider Mallah
The Lakhra region starts from the Jamshoro Thermal Power House and ends near the ruins of ancient Sindhi city of Amri. This mountainous area is known as the Vero Hills. These hills have rain-fed agricultural lands, where the price per acre ranges from Rs.700000 to 1,000,000. These lands yield dry crops without requiring water or expensive agricultural inputs. In the past, crops like beans, chickpeas, millet, guar, and sesame were the backbone of prosperity for the locals. Along with that, there was a large population of livestock, which was part of their everyday livelihood.
Whenever it rained on the Vero Hills, natural grasses and herbs would sprout, and many fragrant medicinal herbs that kept people refreshed and healthy. The meat of goats raised in this region has a unique aroma and flavor not found anywhere else in Sindh.
I once met Syed Murad Ali Shah (Of Bhiria city), a long-serving provincial minister of agriculture and livestock during Zia’s regime. When I introduced myself as someone from Manjhand, his first question was:
“Why does the goat meat from your region smell so aromatic and taste so rich?”
At the time, I hadn’t paid attention to this characteristic. Later, when I asked local herders and butchers in Manjhand, they said the scent and flavor is exclusive to the goats from the Vero Hills, and it comes from the special grasses found only there.
The Khoso tribe, traditionally nomadic, has lived here for centuries. During droughts, they migrate to riverine areas and return when the hills bloom with life. Beyond the hills of Vero, the Lakhi Mountains begin, where now crushing machines break down the mountains into gravel for sale. This crushing business started during the Jam Sadiq (Former Chief Minister of Sindh) era by Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah and is then by Pakhtun investors partnering with a few locals.
Due to the drug economy and Afghan war gains, Pakhtuns have dominated the coal and crushing industries in Pakistan for years. Just as Rohri’s hills have vanished, so too will Lakhi’s mountains soon disappear.
Since the 1980s, the coal mines of Vero Hill and Lakhra have come under the control of outsiders, especially migrants from Waziristan and other tribal areas. The coal mine owners, the small businesses, the hotels, the goods transport, and manual labor are all controlled by non-locals.
The Indus Company has established a whole town named “Indus City” in Lakhra, where over a thousand businesses are operated by Pakhtuns. The market language is Pashto, and migrants from other provinces and Afghanistan have settled here in large numbers. In Union Council Manzoorabad/Khanot, even Pakhtun councilors are now elected, forcing Kotri’s landlords and Sehwan’s Syeds to give them political space. It is likely that the chairmanship of this union council will also soon go to a Pakhtun, much like Lala Rehman Pathan, a university professor, who became chairman of the Jamshoro Mohrho Hills Union Council.
Some Sindhi capitalists also entered the coal business during Musharraf’s era. These include Sikandar Jatoi, Ali Sher Jatoi, and Haji Qudoos Rajar, the family of Shaheed Fazil Rahu, the family of Minister Imtiaz Sheikh, and the Fatah Group. They now earn millions from coal, but their staff mostly comes from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The few local jobs—like watchmen or basic labor earning Rs.5000—are given only on recommendations from Kotri or Sehwan landlords.
Due to coal excavation, local life has completely changed—villages have disappeared, pastures are gone, and the fertile lands that once produced crops after rain have been destroyed. People used to say this land could grow even a man—now it grows nothing.
The natural environment is ruined, and the species of birds, goats, and other animals have vanished. People have migrated away. Lands are replaced by 280-foot-deep coal tunnels, and local landowners are now jobless and desperate.
To get even the harshest labor job with a shovel, locals need political references. Without support from powerful landlords, they are beggars in front of the powerful.
There is no union for local workers. The only union is run by Gul Pukhtoon, where only Pakhtuns are members. They receive housing, bonuses, insurance, and medical support. When non-local workers die in accidents, their families are compensated, employed, given scholarships and training. Locals get nothing.
Illegal weapons and drugs are thriving. You can buy Russian or Chinese Kalashnikovs and even Mouser pistols from Pakhtuns easily. There are many religious seminaries (madrasas) too.
Initially, only Pakhtuns worked inside coal mine tunnels. But now even locals risk their lives in these tunnels due to hunger and unemployment—but only those with political contacts get these jobs.
A few powerful local families have gained wealth, owning double-cabin vehicles and Land Cruisers, and controlling local police stations. In return for their favors, they help suppress the locals.
There are illegal checkpoints, and bribery under police protection is rampant. There are no roads, no hospitals, no schools—just a grand Indus Coal Police Station, more like a mafia den, fully funded by mine owners. The police arrest labor activists and intimidate locals.
To imprison a local worker, all it takes is a false claim of extortion. Months pass before anyone sees them again.
Due to lack of roads, media access is minimal. Local journalists, influenced by small favors and police ties, don’t cover labor protests. Most areas lack internet, so these labor voices don’t reach social media either.
Occasionally, you’ll find Facebook posts accusing journalists of taking bribes, but they soon disappear from the walls of those same journalists.
According to Pakistan’s Constitution, under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), coal companies were obligated to provide basic life facilities in the area, but nothing has been done.
Thousands of locals have been displaced from ancestral lands, yet neither federal nor Sindh governments have taken steps to resettle them.
CSR dictates that 25% of coal profits should be spent on local development—roads, employment, education, health—but since 1976, this money has lined the pockets of MNAs, MPAs, and Deputy Commissioners. Their wealth and influence have grown, while locals live below the poverty line.
They have no livestock left, and their rain-fed lands are gone.
These people, crushed by poverty and political slavery, live in constant fear. They lack educated youth or political activists to lead them out of oppression. They are completely neglected.
Today, the people of Lakhra live a life of extreme suffering.
They urgently need multifaceted help, but government departments, elected officials, and bureaucracy have turned their backs on them.
In truth, these people are like those pushed to the wall, with no one to claim them.
Lacking education and political awareness, they can no longer distinguish between friends and enemies.
These innocent, poor people are unaware of the blessings of the modern 21st century. And perhaps, this very ignorance is the biggest reason for their destruction.
Read: 285 companies operating in Coalmine Sector of Sindh
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AI-augmented translation, edited by Nasir Aijaz
