Sindhi nationalists are set to observe a strike today against a “botched census and conspiracy to turn Sindhis into a minority in their homeland”. They will now have the complete backing of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as well as the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) – albeit for a protest but not for a strike.
PML-F chief Pir Pagaro announced on Friday that he would support the nationalist parties’ demonstration against the first phase of the census, where the number of houses were being counted, after meeting with a Jalal Mehmood Shah-led delegation of the Census Monitoring Committee at the Kingri House. Shah is also a former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly.
Pagara told the delegation that the nationalists’ reservations regarding the census process are justified and that the PML-F would support it. However, he said that agriculturists cannot go on strike. “The government and the Supreme Court of Pakistan appear helpless on the issue of census, which is why it should be carried out under the supervision of the Pakistan Army,” he said. He also expressed surprise over the silence of the government and the Supreme Court over the issue.
But nationalists also had other guests: the PML-N, in a move aimed at countering the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Sindh, started meeting its old cronies and allies in the province. The PML-N did not miss the opportunity of supporting the nationalists, however, as senior-level PML-N delegation, comprising Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, Mehtab Abbasi and Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra, met with the nationalists. From the Sindh party, Makhdom Shahnawaz and Ismail Rahu accompanied them in their parleys.
The PML-N met with Save Sindh Movement (SSM) chief Shah Muhammad Shah and Jalal Mehmood Shah, at his residence. The former was the provincial advisor for information during the last Nawaz Sharif government. He had quit the PML-N after it was toppled by General Pervez Musharraf and had joined the PPP. After some years, he quit the PPP and formed his party. Later, at a press interaction, Khosa said that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s statement on the creation of new provinces has been wrongly interpreted, claiming that Sharif had “never talked about breaking up Sindh.”
Khosa argued that there is a provision in the constitution to make new provinces, but these must be made on administrative grounds and not linguistic basis. “The reservations of nationalists about the census process are right. We also reject the bogus census and house counting, and the entire process should start from the beginning.” Shah Muhammad Shah and Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah said that talks about break-up of Sindh cannot be tolerated at at any cost.
“This bogus house counting is an attempt and conspiracy to convert Sindhis into a minority in their homeland,” they said. The PML-N delegation on Friday met with Sindh National Front (SNF) chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto at his residence. Following the meeting, Khosa told the media that he had a lot of respect for Bhutto, and that’s the reason he came to meet him. Khosa argued that the PML-N had serious reservations over the process of census and house counting in Sindh, adding that the Bhutto’s views on terrorism in the cities of Sindh are same as that of the PML-N.
“PML-N parted ways with this government because it betrayed the agenda of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed,” he said. The PML-N leader said that the PPP has opted to join forces with the PML-Q to get the forthcoming budget passed from the house. “How will the PPP face its voters after forming an alliance with the ‘Qatil’ league?” he questioned.
Bhutto told journalists that Benazir’s son, Bilawal, is not a Bhutto but a Zardari. “We will not allow him to enter corrupt practises using the Bhutto name, because Bhuttos are not corrupt,” he said, adding that he will extend full support to Zulfikar Bhutto Junior and Fatima Bhutto if opted to enter politics. The SNF chief said that there can be an alliance with the PML-N in Sindh against corruption and other issues.
