May 20, 2025
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Renowned Sindhi writer and poet, Taj Joyo, declared on Tuesday May 20, that he would continue supporting movements advocating for Sindh’s rights, and was undeterred by a recent police raid. The raid resulted in the arrest of two of his sons for participating in a protest against proposed corporate farming and the six-canal project in the province.
“This intimidation and harassment will not stop me from supporting movements fighting for the rights of Sindh,” Joyo told Voicepk in a phone interview from his Hyderabad residence.
The literary figure attributed the police action to his criticism of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “The PPP brands anybody who opposes it as a traitor, anti-army, and anti-Islam,” he stated. Joyo accused the party of becoming authoritarian and determined to silence voices advocating for Sindh’s rights.
In a widely circulated social media video from May 19, a visibly distressed Joyo, bare-chested in his room, recounted the shocking pre-dawn raid.
“Scores of police vehicles and over 100 officers, including commandos, stormed my residence and broke down doors,” he said, adding that police severely beat his two sons—Roplo Joyo and Hosh Muhammad Joyo—before taking them away.
According to Hyderabad police, authorities filed sedition charges Monday against Joyo’s three sons and approximately 250 supporters following a rally held the previous day. Officers from the Cantonment police station arrested two of the brothers, Roplo and Hosh Mohammad, early Monday morning and brought them before the Anti-Terrorism Court-I, which ordered three days of judicial custody.
The demonstration, called “Sindh March” and organized by the Sindhian National Congress (SNC), began outside the State Bank building and concluded at the Hyderabad Press Club. Participants rallied against proposed corporate farming initiatives, the six-canal project, environmental degradation, and alleged “enforced disappearances” of political activists.
Though protesters dispersed peacefully around 7 p.m., police raided Joyo’s home hours later, arresting Roplo and Hosh Mohammad. Authorities charged them and more than 250 rally participants at the Cantonment police station under FIR No. 57/25, citing sections 147, 149, and 123A of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with sections 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, filed on behalf of the state.
Named defendants include Sarang Joyo, his wife Sohni Joyo, his brothers Roplo and Hosh Mohammad, Ghani Aman Chandio, Deedar Ali Chandio, Imtiaz Mirani, Muzammil Gaho, Mohib Azad, and Shabbir Leghari. According to the FIR, rally participants allegedly chanted anti-state and anti-army slogans and destroyed pro-army posters.
Joyo stated that his legal team would file bail applications for his two sons when their remand ends Wednesday (May 21). His third son, Sarang Joyo, and daughter-in-law, Sohni Joyo, secured pre-arrest bail from a Hyderabad court on Tuesday.
HRCP and WSC condemnation
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed deep concern over the aggressive police action against Taj Joyo. In a May 19 statement, the HRCP said it was “deeply concerned by the crackdown on political activists in Hyderabad, Sindh, and the reported institution of FIRs under antiterrorism laws.” The commission called the raid on Joyo’s home “deeply disappointing” and urged the Sindh government to investigate allegations of police misconduct and release the detained activists.
Similarly, the World Sindhi Congress condemned the police raid, demanding the immediate release of Joyo’s sons. “This shameful act of harassment against a respected literary and social figure represents a blatant attack on freedom of expression and human dignity,” the organization declared. The Congress further noted that during the raid, Rooplo and Hosh Mohammad were “unlawfully detained without cause or warrant,” calling such actions a violation of constitutional rights and part of “an increasing pattern of intimidation against voices of dissent and cultural pride in Sindh.”
On Tuesday, the Sindhi National Congress Student Federation (SNCSF) organized protests in Hyderabad and Karachi against the charges filed against 250 participants of Sunday’s Sindh March. Demonstrators criticized police actions against activists who had been peacefully protesting corporate farming, exploitation of the Indus River, enforced disappearances, and environmental degradation in Sindh.