'PPP attempting to entrench ethnic divisions in Sindh'

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for continuously attempting to entrench ethnic racism in Sindh for the last 50 years.

"The PPP's first government initiated the work of dividing this province," he stated while talking to the media in Hyderabad on Saturday.

He added that Sindh's ruling party had created a gulf between the province's urban and rural residents, while accrediting his own party for trying to resolve differences by accepting the rule of elected representatives from rural Sindh since 1988.

Earlier on Friday, MQM-P deputy convener Amir Khan said his party would organise a 'Hyderabad March' on Sunday (today) against the 'racist policies' of the PPP-led Sindh government. It is pertinent to note that the PPP plans to hold a 'Karachi Solidarity March' today as well.

Khan blamed PPP founder and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for dividing Pakistan into two countries, while also accusing the PPP of turning Sindh's cities into ruins during its rule. "The protest against the PPP government will continue until the party is ousted from power."

Meanwhile, former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar said Sindh's 'racist' rulers never wanted to empower Urdu-speaking people, hinging his argument on the weak local bodies system in the province.

Federal minister Aminul Haque said MQM-P had demanded a renewed population census in urban Sindh so people could get their due rights.