Nationalists’ point of views: Muzaffar Bhutto laid to rest while his murder raises more questions

Dr Qadir Magsi asks for Supreme Court judicial commissions to investigate Muzaffar’s murder and attack on AT rally.


Z Ali May 24, 2012

HYDERABAD: Muzaffar Bhutto, who carried forward the 'Sindhu Desh' slogan while treading on the heels of the late GM Syed, was laid to rest near his mentor’s grave in Sann, Jamshoro on Wednesday.

Earlier, his Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayers) was offered in the compound of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine in Sehwan. Members of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) remember him as the third major Sindhi nationalist leader, after Nazir Abbassi and Yousuf Jakhrani, to be abducted and killed allegedly by intelligence agencies.

Bhutto, the 42-year-old JSMM general secretary, was found near a village in Hatri, Hyderabad, his body riddled with bullet wounds. He had been shot in the head and in the chest from where the bullets, after piercing his heart and ribs, had passed through his left arm. The hospital identified him as the man who has topped the list of enforced disappearance cases in Sindh.

Mourning supporters, some filled with rage, gathered outside the civil hospital’s emergency ward, chanting slogans of 'Jeay (long live) Sindhu Desh Liberation Army'.

On Wednesday, thousands attended Muzaffar’s funeral, including leaders of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek's factions Niaz Kalani, Riaz Chandio and Dr Dodo Mehri. They all paid rich tributes to the late leader and eulogised his sacrifices.

Pointing fingers

While all nationalists are on the same page in blaming intelligence agencies for killing Muzaffar, they differ over the approaches to deal with his suspected killers.

The factions of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek shared hopelessness in expecting justice from leaders of the country or the judiciary. "The Supreme Court (SC) is only concerned with Punjab and does not take notice of the missing persons in Sindh,” said Kalani, the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) vice chairperson.

In contrast, the Sindhi nationalist parties turned to the SC for salvation. "The agencies believe that they are the only saviours of Pakistan. Ironically, the events since 1970 of the Dhaka debacle, Bhutto's hanging, Islamisation and dictatorships, have only pushed the country further into abyss," said Dr Qadir Magsi, the Sindh Taraqi Pasand (STP) chairperson. Magsi asked that the SC constitute a commission, led by a sitting SC judge, to investigate the enforced disappearance and murder of Muzaffar.

He warned that the progressive nationalists advocate peaceful and democratic politics but if they are subjugated like the Baloch, they will be forced to copy the Baloch’s way of resistance. "You kill four of their (Baloch) people and make 40 enemies. If you want the same for Sindh, we will say Labaik (Welcome) to your decision."

Similarly, a meeting of civil society representatives, attended by writers, intellectuals and heads of advocacy based non-governmental organisations, reproached the agencies for Bhutto’s murder. Convened in the backdrop of Tuesday's assault on the Awami Tehreek’s (AT) 'Mohabat-e-Sindh' rally in Karachi, the attendees cautioned the people not to be provoked and to let the course of justice prevail.

Magsi’s take on rally attack
Unlike his nationalist counterparts, Magsi did not hold the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) or the Mohajir Sooba Tehreek responsible for the killings at the AT rally. Instead, he demanded a SC judge-based judicial commission to look into the incident.

Magsi insinuated about the agencies’ involvement in the AT rally attack. "Why was May 22 selected for Bhutto’s body to be discovered- the same day when over a dozen innocent Sindhi men and women were killed in Karachi?"

Magsi urged the Urdu-speaking people to speak up against the demand for a Mohajir province, saying that it was only the wish of a small number of people and not the majority.

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