“If the establishment caved in to MQM’s blackmailing, we [the nationalists] will call for Sindh’s independence,” said Dr Qadir Magsi, chairperson of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain’s remarks on Thursday on creating a separate province for Urdu-speaking people stirred Sindhi nationalists into outrage.
Hussain had claimed on Thursday that if the new local government system faced any hurdles, the party may demand a separate province for ‘Urdu-speaking Sindhis’.
“If the establishment caved in to MQM’s blackmailing, we [the nationalists] will call for Sindh’s independence,” said Dr Qadir Magsi, chairperson of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party. Nationalist parties have vehemently opposed the Sindh Peoples Local Government Act (SPLGA), which was passed by the Sindh Assembly last year. The new system also led to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Awami National Party and the National Peoples Party to leave the ruling coalition in the province. In a press conference on Friday, Magsi criticised Hussain for drawing a similarity between his British citizenship and that of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. “GM Syed and Bacha Khan were declared traitors when they disagreed with Quaid-i-Azam over some political matters. Why isn’t that label given to [Hussain] now,” asked Magsi.
Speech directed at PPP
Sindh Assembly opposition leader MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbassi told The Express Tribune that Altaf Hussain’s threat of campaigning for a separate province was directed at the ruling party, which, he claimed, had recently suggested making amendments to the new local government system.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ