KARACHI, Oct 18: The coordination committee of Muttahida Qaumi Movement has demanded of the government to immediately release the JSQM leaders, otherwise the people of Sindh will be free to set their future course of action.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, deputy convener of the coordination committee, Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, said that Basheer Khan Qureshi and Dr Niaz Kalani had been shifted to Nara Jail on remand without their production before a magistrate.
He said that the JSQM leaders had been kept in vehicles outside the court and were not allowed to see their lawyers, which, he said, was a violation of criminal proceedings as well as the constitutional provisions.
Mr Aftab, who was flanked by Begum Nasreen Jalil, Khalid bin Walid and Kunwar Khalid, said that the latest state action against the sons of Sindh had no wisdom as the country was presently faced with a crucial situation.
“The prevailing circumstances demand national unity and comprehensive strategy, involving all groups of people, ethnic and regional units as well, to cope with the dangers in the wake of the Afghan crisis and the deteriorating conditions in Kashmir,” he added.
He said that people of Sindh believed in peace and love and they were struggling just for their legitimate basic rights, but the establishment was bent upon to deprive them of their rights.
About fizzling out of the JSQM strike call on Thursday, he said that while condemning the arrest of JSQM leaders, the Muttahida had announced its principled support to the peaceful strike call. Time was short at our disposal and we had also informed our friends in the JSQM about the nature of the strike’s success.
To another question, he said that elections in the country should be held in time as per the government’s declaration. He expressed the view that true representative bodies of Urdu and Sindhi-speaking peoples in the province should be given freedom of expression and permission to hold rallies and public meetings.
