Veteran Sindhi politician and rights activist Jam Saqi passed away in Hyderabad on Monday. According to family sources, Jam Saqi was suffering from multiple ailments, but the cause of death was kidney failure.
He will be laid to rest in Hyderabad, the sources said. Saqi, born October 31, 1944, was a left-wing politician from Sindh. A staunch Communist, he served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Pakistan.
Saqi was arrested in 1978 during the Zia regime and tried before a military court in the 80s. As he was facing trial, Benazir Bhutto appeared before the same court and, as Saqi's defence witness, deposed that "Jam Saqi is a patriotic citizen of the state and [must] be released."
He was jailed for about seven years until 1988. His first wife ended her life upon learning that her husband was being tortured in solitary confinement. He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party in the 90s. He has also remained a council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
