Factions remember GM Syed on his 114th birthday

Half a dozen factions organised separate events to celebrate the late JST leader’s life

HYDERABAD: Sindh United Party (SUP) President Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah has said iconic nationalist leader the late GM Syed always practised non-violent politics and did not like bloody revolutions.

Shah was speaking at a public meeting in Sann, Jamshoro district on Wednesday when over half a dozen factions of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST) marked Syed’s 114th birthday by cutting cakes. Each faction organised a separate public meeting.

"The SUP [a faction of the Tehreek] followed the path of non-violence and kept our workers away from getting involved in any form of violence," said Shah, a grandson of Syed and a former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly. He noted with concern that violence has been continuously creeping up on nationalist politics. "The workers seem to be getting influenced by the politics of confrontation."

He accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of deceiving the people in the name of democracy and blamed the ruling elite for plundering the national wealth. Awami Jamhori Party leader Abrar Qazi said the people of Sindh have always remained at odds with Pakistan's establishment and do not want the rule of military dictatorship. "GM Syed gave us the consciousness of being a nation. But we have yet to implement his thoughts."



The National Party's leader Mir Hasil Bizenjo praised Syed for not only performing the responsibility of a leader but also an intellectual and historian. "Even Zulfikar Ali Bhutto can't match the stature of Syed." Acknowledging the linguistic divide in Sindh as a weapon, Bizenjo said the politics of dividing Sindh cannot be allowed to continue.

The Saraiki Party's leader Nukhbah Langah, who described Syed as a spiritual father, said all the nationalist leaders including the ones from the Saraiki belt should unite to get their rights.

The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz's (JSQM) young leader Sanan Qureshi also echoed similar concerns about extremism and violence and urged workers to remain united and rise above personal differences. "JSQM does not identify itself with extremism," he underlined.

JSQM Senior Vice-President Amjad Mahesar said the party does not accept any violent or extremist elements among its ranks. "These elements are actually damaging the stance of Sindhi nationalists."

The JSQM-Arisar group announced a long march from Bhit Shah to Karachi to highlight the issue of missing persons. Dr Mir Alam Mari, the faction's president, claimed that 25 workers of his party have been subjected to enforced disappearance in Sindh.



In his telephonic speech Dr Safdar Sarki, leader of JST-Sarki faction, claimed that despite their non-violent movement, hundreds of nationalists workers have been whisked away. Jeay Sindh Mahaz Chairperson Riaz Chandio recalled that Syed used to say that misinterpretation of religion, domination of Punjab and a tendency to occupy things that belong to other people will never allow the country to develop.

Chandio raised alarm over the alleged naturalisation of illegal immigrants in Sindh, pointing out the demographic consequences for the native population.