Teen Talwar hosts another protest against MQM demand

Sindh's writers, intellectuals, civil society members held demonstration.

KARACHI:

A large number of writers, intellectuals, poets and civil society members protested and staged a sit-in at Teen Talwar against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) demand to make additional administrative units in Sindh.

The event was organised by the Sindh Writers and Thinkers Forum. The participants termed MQM's demand a 'conspiracy' devised to ensue 'ethnic' riots between the Sindhi and Urdu speaking residents of the province.

"We are nonviolent people and want peace in our province," said a protester. "These kinds of unconstitutional demands promote anarchy. If Sindh is bifurcated, the territory of Pakistan will be in danger."

Writers from upper and lower Sindh, including Karachi, Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Hyderabad, Larkana, Dadu, Shikarpur, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Kashmore, took up a different form of voicing their concerns. They criticised the division of Sindh by reciting poetry and prose.

According to poet Aakash Ansari, the demand was an attack on the integrity of Pakistan and writers have gathered in Karachi to prevent this conspiracy. "I think the demand is a result of internal conflicts within the ranks of MQM," he said. "The leadership has failed to resolve the intra-party conflicts, which is why they are trying to trigger ethnic violence."

Among other poets and writers who read their papers and spoke on the occasion were Prof Mushtaque Mirani, Barrister Zameer Ghumro, Naseer Eijaz, Shahab Osto, Dastagir Bhatti, Muzaffar Bhutto and Hamsafar Gadhi.

People held black, blue and red placards in their hands, inscribed with different slogans against the division of Sindh, such as 'Sindh believes in peace, harmony', 'Stop conspiracy against Sindh' and 'We don't want violence, we want peace and coherence'. A large number of people of the Kutchi community of Lyari, as well as residents of Ibrahim Hyderi, Malir, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Defence and Clifton also showed up.

Presenting their charter of demands, the writers demanded of the British government to take notice of the MQM chief Altaf Hussain's last speech in which 'he has tried to incite violence in the province through provocative speech about the division of Sindh'. After three hours of demonstration, the participants dispersed announcing that they will continue this campaign in various district headquarters through the power of their pen.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2014.