Analysing the grave law and order situation in Pakistan, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has warned that the Titanic of Muslim Ummah had started sinking and the whole ship would collapse if urgent steps were not taken to rescue it.
The MQM chief was talking to a joint meeting of the co-ordination committee in London and Karachi simultaneously.
Hussain said he was giving this example by way of illustration as the boastful claims made for the titanic were being made for Pakistan as well. He said the owners of Titanic had boasted in 1911 in response to a question about the lack of rescue boats on the ship in case of any emergency and that even God would not be able to sink Titanic as it was immensely strong and huge.
Sharing the story of the ship, Altaf said when the titanic hit the iceberg, its lower part sank gradually and people in the lower decks including women, children and elderly started searching safe places in utter desperation. The rich people and high officials on the upper deck had no idea that the ship was sinking. When these people inquired about the situation after seeing the waiters and crew rushing past them in hurry, they were pacified and told that everything was fine, he narrated the story.
These people continued with their revelries, eating, drinking, singing and merrymaking, Altaf added. When the crew started distributing lifejackets to the passengers of the upper deck, they were told that the weather was rough and hence it was advisable to wear lifejackets. The passengers of the upper deck remained engrossed in their activities without any worry. Finally the first deck also sank and all passengers except a few hundred perished, he concluded.
Hussain said there was a similarity between the current situation in Pakistan and that of Titanic. People on the ‘upper deck’ are misleading the public by claiming that everything was fine. They are saying that everything would turn out to be good as Allah had created this country and Allah would save it, he warned.
Speaking about the debacle in East Pakistan, Hussain said the Radio Pakistan in West Pakistan was broadcasting news that our armed forced were advancing on every front and they were getting victory at every place. The fact of the matter was that 93,000 soldiers had actually surrendered before the Indian Army while these claims were being made.
Hussain appealed to the people of Pakistan not to forget his statement as the country may go down in the history as a tragic story if the situation was not changed. He recited the famous Urdu couplet: Utho wagarna hashr nahee ho ga phir kabhi/ Doro zamana chaal qayamat ki chal gaya (Arise for the hour of the reckoning will not come again. Take heed for the time has played sharp move).
