Altaf Hussain says non-Muslims should not be referred to as ‘minorities’
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder and chief, Altaf Hussain, underscored on the importance of interfaith harmony at a meeting with members of the MQM’s Coordination Committee and ministers at the party’s London secretariat.
In a statement issued by the MQM, Altaf Hussain said that the party has always strived for the stability of democracy, political and interfaith harmony and social development. It believes in the principle of “live and let live” and considers all the people living in Pakistan belonging to various religions as equal citizens of Pakistan.
MQM leaders attending the meeting included the Sindh governor, Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri and provincial ministers Raza Haroon, Shoaib Bukhari, Dr Sagheer Ahmed and Adil Siddiqui.
Hussain said that the party has always spread the message of respecting all religions and faiths and their places of worship. He also said that the party does not want the term ‘minority’ to be used for non-Muslims and they should be considered as equal Pakistanis and given the same opportunities.
At the meeting, the Sindh governor briefed Altaf Hussain about his visit to the UK with a delegation of government representatives. The outcome of the visit includes agreements signed with a number Scottish companies for investing in Sindh, memorandums of understanding for desalinating seawater to provide 100 MGD to Karachi, solid waste management and generating electricity from the waste, improvement in the sewerage system and providing 50 ambulances to the health department. A memorandum of understanding has also been signed for providing training to the graduates of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and NED University of Engineering and Technology at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow.
The delegation also met with the head of the Conservative Party Baroness Saeeda Warsi as well as with officials of the Church of Scotland.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2012.
COMMENTS (63)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1732697578-0/Untitled-design-(5)1732697578-0-270x192.webp "miss aini debuts as karachi s first ai teacher robot")
Instead of earning political scores thru these cheap slogans, you could have raised your sincere voice and strengthened legislations through your collaision government to save minority homes and lives from being torched in various parts of the country. There lies a history of these atrocities, and I should not list them for you.
This type of statement can only be placed who has vast vision to bring the different community at par with all other Muslims of Pakistan, we are proud to have a great leader like U.
Weldon Sir
zulfiqar ali bhutto was himself a liberal,broadminded muslim,but probably in order to save his government;he accepted the demands of' so-called muslim ''MULLAHS'',WHO AT THAT TIME HAVE SUCCEEDED IN GRABBING THE MINDS OF COMMON PAKISTANIS. DURING THE LAST 40 YEARS A LOT OF CHANGE HAS OCCURRED.the cruel,dirty&deadly face of these illiterate clerics &''mullahs''has taught a lot.the widespread media,global interaction &increase in literacy has has shown the right path to pakistanis.even a peasant now knows that actual islam teaches tolerance,patience&equal rights for everyone living in a country.they have started hating these religious lunatics (baring some small segments here &there).a common pakistani now accepts that a man of a different faith can become his friend,if he is not harmful for his life,property,livelihood&self respect but a muslim can not be afriend if any of these are in danger from him.in general a vast majority os pakistanis want peaceful,harmonious society.this is high time that we must seriously think upon the suggestion of altaf hussain,.he is very right when he says that a pakistani is just a pkistani,whatever may be his faith,belief,cast or creed.go a bit forward &the entire populatin will accept it by heart&soul.don't care for these lunatics who are THE ACTUAL MINORITY &MENACE FOR THE COUNTRY.
Excellent. It is so true that everyone living in Pakistan should be called Pakistani instead of minority and I can understand it well as living here in Australia where we are all Australians not minorities etc. no matter how public behaves sometime to some groups but the govt. has a clear policy that every Australian is an equal citizen and shares equal rights.
@Awans: Pakistan was created for Muslims, and Quaid-e-Azam also called Non Muslims as Minorities, AH have also given anti-Pakistan statements earlier so nothing new!!!
Muslim state cannot have non Muslim ruler, and creation of Pakistan was backed by concept of Islamic Welfare State. Unfortunately we are no way near to that concept, our current generation seems confused (as evident from these comments) and such leaders with their own personal agendas are further distorting the real motives behind Pakistan. Please read speeches of Quaid-e-Azam & Iqbal to understand the Ideology of Pakistan instead of supporting statements from head of terrorist group !!!
If there was rule of law in Pakistan and Pakistan doesn't have sectarian violence and equal rights for each citizen according to constitution, talk about minority may not have been such a hot topic.
Btw, even in diversified culture and torrelent democracies in the world, a simple question is asked "are you a visible minority", for example when you apply for a Job - and 'chose to respond' option is given in the questionnaire.
It is not that Altaf Hussain has said something out of the box or have sudden crush on minority - I believe Pakistan constitution already provide that cover.
I think this is the voice of a man having heart which can feel the pain of people belongs to religion other then himself. Allover the world except a few Muslim countries all people treated equally even they have rights to be a President or Prime Minister. Mr Altaf Hussain a leader from lower middle class, proved that he is also the real leader of people not belongs to Islam and raised their voice with full power. We hope that in near future MQM will be the Lagest political party of Pakistan.
Incredible how many people are falling for this stuff! You've all been snowed.
The man made no new commitments and furthermore claimed that "the party has always spread the message of respecting all religions -" that is, that the MQM is perfect and no changes are necessary. Thus, if you switch your vote to MQM there is absolutely no commitment that the MQM will do anything to improve the terrible situation of intolerance minorities experience today.
Pakistani officials are excellent at stating principles and very poor at abiding by them. You've got to keep on top of these guys if you actually want to see substance and not be placated, as in this instance, with soothing but substance-free words.
In Pakistani, there should only be Pakistani, no caste, no creed, no colour,- only Pakistani. i love &think u altaf bhai
i love altaf bhai
Absolutely love the secular outlook of MQM.
A great asset for Pakistan ,the muthida movement ,but as usual Muslim nations choose corrupt and inefficient leaders
If we delete the word "minority" from the Consitution of Pakistan than there will be no body who would be called from minority group.
But this should not stop here. The Federal Goverment has to remove the quota restrictions from the jobs all over Pakistan as well as from the Educational Institutions in the country.
This means that only and only merit will prevail in the country in every sphere of life.
Makes sense. Period.
to call some one minority on the basis of relegion is an open discrimination in any civilised society and is punishable but in this land of pure, where hypocracy is the rule of law,ignorance level at alarming heights, mullacracy at his best, the word humanity has lost it's meaning.
Mr Tot Ba tot Sorry to say that MQM has one of the highest representation of people from other religion cast and creed other then urdu speaking First clear your facts and for a matter of fact again there are centeral leaders in MQM which or not muslims and not urdu speaking as well.......... And by the way stop spreading hatred and be positive about your country and it's people.
And likewise the non-Chritians who live in the Chritian Countries should not be referred as Minorities too.
The MQM have always been consistent on this subject. Credit goes to them for this.
Altar Bhai is in London and sends a statement out occasionally. AB and MQM are an ethnically based organization none of their leadership is from other groups. Be they minorities or something else. So it's a bit difficult to take these statements as mire than words. We should strive for a secular state but it is no guarantee for minorities. Just look East for examples of massacres of Sikhs in the eighties, Muslims in the in Gujarat riots and Bombay. Burma has just experienced murders of rohingyas. The killing of Chinese minorities in SEAsia or the slaughter of bosnians by secular power or Rwandas killing fields. Secularism is fine but it doesn't guarantee anything. Wasn't Hitler secular?
@Umer Firoz Pirzada: Benazir Butto, Bilawal Bhutto, Salman Taseer and countless PPP leaders have spoken in favor of minorities but we will never give them credit for it because they are from PPP, the party we love to hate. By the way well done Altaf Hussain.
Now that's good leadership!
He is right in saying that non-muslims should not be referred as Minorities. In Pakistan, they are now Endangered Species facing imminent extinction in the next 5 - 10 years.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but it is still a BROKEN clock.
@Marxism4Pakistan.: Though you have given right logic that Bhutto under the pressure from the Islamic Party declared Ahmedi, Friday Holiday and ban on alcoholic. However the reality is even beyond that what about Christian institutions that he has nationalised in Sindh and Punjab? What about the insertion of religion in NI Card? There are many examples that showed he sowed the seed of odium. As far as mohtarma shaheed Benazir Bhutto is concerned she was liberal and more lenient towards non-Muslims. We appreciate the statements of Mr. Altaf Hussain who always supported non-Muslims and raised his voice against the injustice.
Mr. Altaf Hussain,
Talking is free and you can say whatever you want without paying anything. If you want a real change in Pakistan than first take a courageous step of removing blashphemy law. Secondly change the text books which teaches hatred against non Muslims. If you are not able to do this than nothing is going to change in Pakistan. Things will only worsen more.
Even though I am a critic of MQM's policies and whatever they did in the past,but consider this statement by Altaf Hussain really legit,moderate and rational.Moreover,Islam is a Deen not religion and Allah SWT addresses human beings too a number of times in The Holy Quran.In Quran,Allah Ta'la talks about human nature at different places.
it does not matter what you call them as long as we consider them equal in every way. therfore we should not confuse people with thses political slogans that they should not be called minorities or majorities. anyway in our land of pures minorities are the actual majority as as not only christians, hindus, sikhs are in minority, but Shias, ahmedis, Ismailis, Bohris, hazaras are called minorities as well....God Bless Us..
Offcourse, i agree & think that Altaf Bhai's point appeals and he is right. We as Pakistani must respect for minorities.
Ya they should be considered as equal Pakistani, and our leaders should be courageous about it like Altaf Hussain
I am totally and religiously agreed to the statement given by Mr. Altaf Hussain. Although the action of political/religious leaders is practically negate the statement but these notions are aligned to the concepts which makes any individual human and good muslims. The zeal to tolerate others beliefs and concepts is mandatory to become a true Muslim as well as sincere and faithful nation. I each and every era of time, it is very difficult to cited truth weather it was the era of Ancient greek when Socrates was sentenced to death just for stated truth, or, it is the Present modern era. I pay my heartily tribute to Mr Altaf Hussain for his courageous statement for the well being of Pakistan as well as global peace. The statement of Altaf Hussain should be considered as a unchangeable constitutional clause.
My own parents, Hindu Sindhis, suffered considerably at the hands of religious fanatics in Pakistan. There are, no doubt, bigots everywhere in the world but in Pakistan this bigotry is institutionalized. Pakistani mullahs, military and politicians, having absolutely no concern about the national interest and only interested in filing their pockets and gaining power, have led the country to an inevitable doomsday future. If Bhutto (by whom I mean Zulfikar) sparked the religious bigotry in Pakistan, it was Zia ul Haq's obsession with religion as a means of securing his position that put the country on a dangerous path from which it has not turned back. We live in the 21st century: a black man can become the president of the most powerful country in the world or a Muslim -- and at least four of them -- can become the president of the world's largest democracy (which is neighbouring India), Pakistan presents a sorry state of affairs. Pakistan is a cage where minorities are confined with sealed mouths and chains on their legs. A country that behaves in such uncivilized manner with its minorities can NEVER progress. The dark age seems to be descending on you folks. This is how the civilized world thinks of you.
@Marxism4Pakistan.: Whether Bhutto saw himself as an Islamist or not is pointless. If he used his position to serve the Islamist agenda and was not able to discharge his duties toward all citizens in an unbiased manner without fear or favour, he was an Islamist. Personally, i feel even the Marxists of India serve the Islamist agenda.
Why do Pakistanis only talk of cosmetic changes? Is it only for public consumption? No matter what you call them they are infact a minority with no rights in the "Islamic republic of Pakistan". Unless you declare Pakistan a secular state with a secular Constitution with separation of religion and state all such cosmetic measures are meaningless and do nothing to improve individual rights to freedom of and from religion for all people regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
Thank you Mr. Altaf Hussain. We really consider the word minority as abusive. I personally know and witness that MQM does not have any bias against any member from minority in our country. Good thought which should be followed both by the government and others.
Minority or not, words mean very little, actions count. Minority word in itself is a neutral word.
Altaf Hussain is talking sense. This country belongs to all and all should have equal rights
Altaf Bhai... You have not suggested a term by which they should be identified and called... If you mean to give no distinction to these classes, then they are going to be deprived of certain privileges available to the 'minority' groups - such as reserved job quota, privileges to down-trodded groups in the country, etc.
@yasir: I believe it would be unfair to blame the MQM for the violence in Karachi. Remember it takes two to make a quarrel. There are many factors behind the incessant killings and incidents of violence in Karachi. There are other actors as well who are directly involved in killings and extortion but unfortunately we do not see the long arm of the law moving against them. Situation in Karachi is very delicate. It needs careful handling. Crime and politics should not be mixed.
This shows the True Leadership, Mr. Altaf Hussain is a genuine true leader who always do & instruct his representatives to do thing for the betterment of common people. This statement also show that he is not only he leader of Muslim & he also have a soft corner for Minorities.
Thanks
Suhail Khan
Altaf bhai, you should ask the honorable MPAs of sindh (where your party calls the shots) to pass a resolution in the provincial assembly on this issue. This would reinforce the age old adage and your reputation of 'actions speak louder than words'
Well Said Bhai I don't care what mullahs think of ahmadis and my non muslim brothers and sister but no one should be referred to as Minorities. We should make Pakistan a better place to live in and should be tolerant towards other religion. The only thing which count is humanity...........and Pakistanis should make Pakistan a better place for humans rather then one religion..
"He also said that the party does not want the term ‘minority’ to be used for non-Muslims and they should be considered as equal Pakistanis and given the same opportunities."
Despite my strong reservations about MQM's past actions, politics, and the way party being run from London by a dual national leader, I must appreciate the above statement. This is a reality of the modern world and one of the benefactions of secularism. However, sadly this is not being practiced in true spirit anywhere in the world. The majority groups in almost every country have their prejudices against some minority groups and they are victimized on various levels in varying degrees, even though the laws guarantee equal rights. I wish we were the first to implement this noble principle in its true spirit according the wishes of the Quaid-e-Azam as narrated by him in his historical address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947:
“We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish.”
“…you will find that in course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.”
I think Altaf Hussain's Sb point appeals n he is genuinely right. We as Pakistani must respect for minorities.............They are our brothers & sisters
Albert Einstein once said: "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
In this context, read "evil" as the mullahs and the government and read "the people" as us. Pakistan's future is very bleak. Can the last person leaving the room please switch off the lights.
I hope your dream come truedevelop countries are playing with no develop countries in the name of democracy....
Well that's the good thing about MQM, secular and educated mind set! That's what we need right now!
In Pakistani, there should only be Pakistani, no caste, no creed, no colour,- only Pakistani.
He should be either PM or President of Pakistan
@Umer Firoz Pirzada: yea, only talking that is... :|
The words "Minorities " is contempt to the human rights. Such words should not be in refering to our nationals..
Absolutely love the secular outlook of MQM.
Altaf Bhai, You are the man. I don't care what people say but you have more sense than any other politicians and also guts to say few things that the others will just leave the country in order to save their faces from the media. You will have my vote on this.
@Awans: The amendments you are referring to were made near the end of Mr. Bhutto's reign as Prim Minister, not because he was a Islamist but because of pressure from Islamic parties like Jamaat e Islami, which were becoming increasingly violent and influential. In order to please these Islamists, Bhutto had to make Friday the weekly holiday, ban alcohol and declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims.
But that doesn't mean that Bhutto was a Islamist himself. On the contrary, during most of his reign he was a secular leader and the only one to honestly try to bring true socialism to Pakistan. The Islamists found him to be "too moderate" and that is why they were happy to have General Zia as President after his martyrdom.
Taking examples are useless.. India is democracy and its constitution gives all rights to religious minorities at par of the majority and the governments also trying to lend support to them.. But Pakistan is declared as theocratic democracy and so the constitution; and the subsequent amendments to it made the living vulnerable to religious minorities..
although i dont agree with some of the political practices of MQM and Altaf hussain i congratulate him on his principled stance about right of non muslims in pakistan.
Thank you Altaf Hussain =)
Good words Altaf bhai, but it would be even better if you stop acting like Bosley from charlie's angels, and give commands from Karachi/Pakistan instead of your cosy abode in United Kingdom!
The religious minorities living in Pakistan should be integrated with the rest of the country and given equal opportunities. Whenever there is an act of violence against religious minorities in the country, it brings the country into disrepute internationally.
Our religion Islam also enjoins upon us to protect people belonging to other faiths. I appreciate the MQM for its stance regarding the minorities. It is a fact that no other political party in the country speaks so forcefully for the rights of the religious minorities living in the country.
Although a bad press and campaign against Altaf Bhai, his statements are balanced and sensible. I have started liking him, long live Bhai Sahib.
After The Mr. Muhammad Jinnah Only Altaf Hussain Is One Who Is Continuously Talking About The Rights Of Minorities In Pakistan
I agree. If every citizen of Pakistan will be declared a Pakistani then everything will be fine.......At present Our Constitution consider Two types of Pakistanis. One is Muslim and others as Minorities and Minority dont even have a right to be elected for Prime Minister and President. If in neighboring India a Muslim could become a President of Hindu Majority nation as they consider every Indian as Indian irrespective of religion then what is wrong with Pakistan???. God knows that tomorrow we could have a Christian Pakistani Prime minister who will out par current Muslim Prime Ministers. Every Pakistani is a Pakistani and they have equal rights and Pakistani Constitution must make amendments for that. Thanks to Bhutto who expel Ahmedis out of general society of Pakistan and Segregated Muslims and all non Muslims for all higher Positions of Pakistan by making Amendments in Constitution and now The seeds of Hatred planted by Bhutto are now fully Mature. Irony is that Bhutto is considered Secular after these blunders.