LA HORE: The Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee has demanded distribution of all public sector agriculture land among tenants working on them for decades.

The demand was made at a seminar organised on the eve of International Day of Peasants here on Sunday.

Speakers criticised allotment of agriculture land to military officials suggesting that the practice should end and feudalism in all forms and shapes must be eliminated.

Presided over by Mian Ashraf, a peasant leader from Lahore, it was attended by hundreds of tenants from different areas of Punjab.

Ashraf claimed that five years ago, around 250 acre had been taken away from tenants at Bengali Farms, Lahore to build a university.

The tenants happily vacated the land, but it was announced that the land would be used to build Aashiana housing scheme.

That did not happen either as it was given to a privatehousing society.

Baba Qasim, a tenant f rom Dera Sehgal who was released after four days from Muridke police lockup, told the gathering that police forced him to demolish his house at Dera Sehgal in exchange for his freedom. He was arrested thrice during the last year.

`I have spent seven months in jail just for the `crime` that I refused to vacate the land I am cultivating as a tenant.

He claimed that his 23 relatives and fellow villagers were in prison and police were forcing them to vacate 125 acre of agriculture land they were given during the land reforms by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Farooq Tariq, general secretary of Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, alleged that the worst feudal traditions and practices were going on in Punjab.

He said the committee would revive the peasant movement in Punjab for land rights and demanded an immediate release of all those arrested, including Mehr Abdul Sattar, Ghulam Dastgir Mahboob, Nadeem Ashraf and Malik Salim Jakhar.