MQM-P's demand for new province draws rebuke
Plan to divide Sindh will have implications for country, says Palijo
Ayaz Latif Palijo. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
HYDERABAD:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's (MQM-P) renewed call for carving out a new province in Sindh has drawn rebuke from nationalist and other parties.
The Grand Democratic Alliance's (GDA) General Secretary Ayaz Palijo reiterated that the scheme for dividing Sindh will have implications for the country and said that the global powers which want to destabilise Pakistan are behind such plans.
"It is [a] game of undemocratic forces to involve the people in such stupid and baseless issues," said advocate Sajjad Chandio, president of Awami Tehreek (AT), on Sunday. The MQM-P's leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui had announced at the party's public meeting in Karachi on Saturday that they were launching the struggle to create an urban Sindh based province.
PPP punishing Badin for its electoral defeat, alleges GDA
He had claimed that the people living in urban Sindh are being subjected to injustices and dubbed the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Sindh government racists. "They [MQM-P] spoke against Sindh's unity and Pakistan's stability in their public meeting," Palijo said.
He blamed the MQM-P for creating erroneous images before its supporters of the ethnic groups in Pakistan. "They portray Pashtun as land mafia, drug peddlers and Taliban; Punjabis as agents of the intelligence agencies; Balochis as the gang war folks and Sindhis as waderas [feudal lords] and dharial [dacoits]".
Palijo said like PPP does not represent all Sindhis, PML-N all Punjabis, PTI or ANP all Pashtuns, MQM-P also does not represent the whole Urdu-speaking people. He questioned what MQM-P delivered for the Urdu speaking people during its several stints in the governments for the last 31 years.
"You failed to develop Karachi and you hold the rural towns of Sindh responsible for it". Palijo asked all political parties to clarify their stance with regard to the MQM-P's demand and to suspend all political cooperation with that party until it categorically withdrew from the demand.
The AT president said that MQM-P continued to act as an ethnic gang which was allegedly involved in killings of thousands of innocent citizens of Pakistan. He wondered why the judiciary does not take notice of the racist and divisive political statements of the party.
The PPP MPA Abdul Jabbar Khan, who was elected from Latifabad, Hyderabad, in a maiden PPP victory from the formerly MQM-P's stronghold, said that the ethnic divisions will only create problems and hatred. "Progress and prosperity is only possible in Sindh when we live in peace and harmony".
He said that unlike the past, Urdu speaking people in Sindh's urban areas are joining PPP in large numbers. "With the passage of time the people have understood that the ethnic divisions were created for vested interests".
"There is no difference between MQM-London and MQM-P. Both are two sides of the same coin and involved in anti-state activities," alleged AT President Chandio.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's (MQM-P) renewed call for carving out a new province in Sindh has drawn rebuke from nationalist and other parties.
The Grand Democratic Alliance's (GDA) General Secretary Ayaz Palijo reiterated that the scheme for dividing Sindh will have implications for the country and said that the global powers which want to destabilise Pakistan are behind such plans.
"It is [a] game of undemocratic forces to involve the people in such stupid and baseless issues," said advocate Sajjad Chandio, president of Awami Tehreek (AT), on Sunday. The MQM-P's leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui had announced at the party's public meeting in Karachi on Saturday that they were launching the struggle to create an urban Sindh based province.
PPP punishing Badin for its electoral defeat, alleges GDA
He had claimed that the people living in urban Sindh are being subjected to injustices and dubbed the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Sindh government racists. "They [MQM-P] spoke against Sindh's unity and Pakistan's stability in their public meeting," Palijo said.
He blamed the MQM-P for creating erroneous images before its supporters of the ethnic groups in Pakistan. "They portray Pashtun as land mafia, drug peddlers and Taliban; Punjabis as agents of the intelligence agencies; Balochis as the gang war folks and Sindhis as waderas [feudal lords] and dharial [dacoits]".
Palijo said like PPP does not represent all Sindhis, PML-N all Punjabis, PTI or ANP all Pashtuns, MQM-P also does not represent the whole Urdu-speaking people. He questioned what MQM-P delivered for the Urdu speaking people during its several stints in the governments for the last 31 years.
"You failed to develop Karachi and you hold the rural towns of Sindh responsible for it". Palijo asked all political parties to clarify their stance with regard to the MQM-P's demand and to suspend all political cooperation with that party until it categorically withdrew from the demand.
The AT president said that MQM-P continued to act as an ethnic gang which was allegedly involved in killings of thousands of innocent citizens of Pakistan. He wondered why the judiciary does not take notice of the racist and divisive political statements of the party.
The PPP MPA Abdul Jabbar Khan, who was elected from Latifabad, Hyderabad, in a maiden PPP victory from the formerly MQM-P's stronghold, said that the ethnic divisions will only create problems and hatred. "Progress and prosperity is only possible in Sindh when we live in peace and harmony".
He said that unlike the past, Urdu speaking people in Sindh's urban areas are joining PPP in large numbers. "With the passage of time the people have understood that the ethnic divisions were created for vested interests".
"There is no difference between MQM-London and MQM-P. Both are two sides of the same coin and involved in anti-state activities," alleged AT President Chandio.