HYDERABAD, February 24, 2010 (PPI): Hundreds of Christians and Muslims residents of Hur Camp Colony of Taluka Qasimabad district Hyderabad held a big protest demonstration here on Wednesday against the proposed auction of their ancestral graveyard in Hur Camp by Auqaf Department. The demonstration and later press conference was led and read by chairman Action Committee Hur Camp Colony Lal Khan Jatoi, Aslam Bhatti, Hidayat Masih, father Gulzar Gull, father Akram Masih, Bishop Younis Gull, Iqbal Chandio, Maqbool Khokhr and others. They told newsmen that the Christian community of Hyderabad estimated to be at more than 100,000 was living her even before Pakistan. They said that Hur Camp Christian graveyard was sanctioned as graveyard in revenue department’s maps and shown in survey number 65 of Deh Jamshoro where the Christians bury their dead. They said that even today more than 500 graves can be seen in this graveyard which they said was biggest Christian graveyard in Hyderabad district. They said that recently Auqaf department published advertisement in newspapers that this graveyard land will be auctioned on 9th March 2010. They said that Auqaf department wants to sell this land to a builder mafia for building plaza and to get millions of rupees in commission from builders. Bishop Younis Gull and Maqbool Khokhar told this correspondent that there are two other graveyards of Christians one at Latifabad where there is no further land to bury the dead while the other which is in area of Cantonment which has been reserved for dead of rich Christian families and for office bearers of Churches as no common Christian is allowed to bury there. They demanded from higher authorities to take notice of the illegal notice of auction by Auqaf department and to save their graveyard.