Pakistan People’s Party senior leader Khursheed Shah on Friday apologised and retracted his earlier statement after facing criticism from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Addressing reporters, the opposition leader in the National Assembly said his statement that “the use of word Mohajir (immigrant) was an insult” was not meant to hurt or offend anyone. He said that he himself was a Mohajir since his ancestors had moved to Sindh several centuries ago but now he considered himself a native. He added that the MQM chief also used to call the province as ‘his motherland’ so it was better if the community identified itself as Sindhis rather than Mohajirs.
Earlier, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi had criticised Shah’s statement and demanded an apology.
The MQM leader said that the statement by the NA opposition leader had hurt the sentiments of the Urdu-speaking community.
He questioned the timings of Shah’s statement on the eve of his party’s rally in Karachi on Saturday (today).