Pointing out that Sindh’s resources have been “plundered” on a massive scale and its people stripped of their “dignity”, Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST) chief Dr Safdar Sarki demanded on Sunday that a referendum be held on the independence of the province.
“The future of our Urdu-speaking Sindhi brethren does not lie with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and it is the JST that will provide them with complete protection and fight for their rights,” he said.
“There is no tussle between the Urdu-speaking Sindhis and the followers of GM Syed.”
Addressing a JST rally near Tibet Centre on MA Jinnah Road, Sarki said Sindh has been robbed numerous times throughout its history.
“People of other nationalities have settled in Sindh. It was a big conspiracy against the people of the province,” he added.
The JST chief said the people of Sindh and Balochistan are headed towards their independence at a fast pace.
“We will not accept the slavery of Punjab. The one-unit system was imposed in 1958 and Sindh was turned into Lahore’s slave,” he remarked.
He said Punjab should accept the freedom movements in Sindh and Balochistan and behave like a “good neighbour”.
“The so-called constitutional amendments are not the solution to the problems of Sindh’s people,” he added.
The JST rally was supposed to be a “million march”, but the party was unable to attract the number of participants it was expecting, with only around 5,000 turning up at the venue.
The JST rally was guarded by the party’s own gun-trotting men, who violated the provincial government’s ban on display of weapons with impunity.
The MA Jinnah Road and its adjoining roads were blocked and a large number of law enforcement agencies’ personnel were deployed in the area.
‘We’ve had enough of bad neighbour Punjab’
