Activism behind bars: Prison inmate in Swabi keen on joining Pak Sarzameen Party

Says former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal has worked for people

SWABI: An inmate of District Jail Swabi has expressed his intention to join former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal’s Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP). This was stated in a handout issued from the prison on Friday.

Sartaj Hussain, the inmate, wants to join the party because he believes Kamal has worked for the welfare of the people of Karachi during his tenure. Hussain has been quoted as saying he will officially announce his decision in this regard in the near future.

“His fellow inmates, Saeed Sabir Shah, Muhammad Salman Khan and Muhammad Farooq, have also decided to join the party,” the handout stated.

Hussain was previously associated with another political party. However, the name of the party was not mentioned in the statement issued.

“Hussain has completed matriculation and is 45 years old,” stated the document. “He hails from Musa Banda near Zaida in Swabi and was imprisoned over several criminal charges.”

Hussain is believed to be the first person from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa who has expressed an intention to join PSP.

Although there are tiny pockets within the province that support Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, it is mostly nominal and any mention of MQM is confined to what is written in the newspapers.

In March, Kamal announced his decision to establish his party after making several claims and disclosures about Altaf Hussin during a dramatic news conference in Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th,  2016.