Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday clarified his earlier remarks about dividing Sindh, saying “Sindh is our mother and must never be partitioned, but one has to look at last resorts when no other option is left”.
He was addressing a public gathering in Karachi where he used the terms “Sindh number one” and “Sindh number two” to talk about hypothetical provinces, one for PPP supporters and the other for people from various ethnic groups who are being denied their rights.
“I say to PPP members today, that is, to Sindh’s ‘number one’ — you might as well make an official declaration because you have practically already done so with your actions — that you are the owners of Sindh number one… but at least let Pathans, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Baloch, Punjabis and Urdu-speaking people live in Sindh number two,” he said.
The MQM chief once again criticised the delimitation of constituencies.
“PPP deliberately delimited constituencies to manufacture a PPP win in every constituency, and they said, ‘We’re in the government and can do whatever we can.’ We had no option but to go to court. The court heard the case for several months and then gave a verdict.”
Altaf also spelled out the court verdict and stressed on how it “exposed PPP’s shenanigans for everyone to see”.
The MQM chief lambasted a “certain TV anchor” and a “particular programme” for distorting his words and message. He added that it was regrettable that if TV anchors and columnists spoke or wrote in favour of the “MQM’s truth” they were labelled as “sold out”.
Altaf Hussain complained that representatives from various political parties went all out against his statement on dividing Sindh, declaring it seditious and worth condemning as no such remark was made.
The MQM chief provided an example of how his words were being distorted, as compared to other politicians:
“If the ANP say, ‘if Kalabagh Dam is built, we will tear those who build it to pieces, will bomb away the country, then it is considered acceptable!”
“Maulana Siraj of Jamaat-e-Islami said that if the federal government did not give Khyber Pakhtunkhwa its due share of resources, then their people should get prepared for another December 16, 1971-like situation. And that was acceptable! No one created a hullabaloo over that!”
The MQM chief also blasted Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hasan for labelling TTP terrorist Hakimullah Mehsud a “shaheed” (martyr).
The MQM doesn’t believe in taking revenge, but rather, it believes in forgiving the oppressors, Altaf said.
“Today the propagandists are deciding who is loyal and who is traitor.”
Demanding abolition of quota system in Sindh, Altaf said that it’s a challenge for the provincial government to prove it represents all.
The MQM chief advised the PPP government not to suppress the dissenting voices through force as this would entail physical violence.
He said that whatever powers the ruling classes were enjoying were a result of the sacrifices of their forefathers. He reminded the civil and military bureaucracy of the historic role of migrants.
“Had our ancestors not sacrificed two million lives, there would be no chair (power); there would be no badge on the chest and there would be no star on the shoulder,” he said.
PPP, PTI SLAMS DIVISION:
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said Sindh existed before the creation of Pakistan and Sindhis would never tolerate its division at any cost.
“Sindh is always number one and it would remain so.”
Ethnic Sindhi nationalists, who already announced a strike for Monday (today) to protest against the MQM chief’s speech, reaffirmed their strike call.
Ayaz Latif Palejo said that he had expected Altaf to retract his earlier statement.
Rival political parties of MQM vowed to support the strike.
Moreover, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi Sunday also opposed the idea of division of Sindh province, as proposed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain in his speech.
Talking to media men at Karachi airport, Qureshi said the present status Sindh ‘Dharti’ (land) should be maintained.
Commenting on local bodies polls in the country, the PTI leader said that if the polls looked like the May 11 general elections, it would not be deemed as a move for promotion of the cause of democracy.
Reaffirming the PTI’s resolve, he said the aim of his party’s campaign is to make a breach in the corrupt system and pledged that a visible change would be noticed in the upcoming local bodies’ elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where transfer of power to the grass roots level will be ensured.
