KARACHI, Sept 23: Principal St. Patrick’s High School Karachi, Father Joseph Paul, on Tuesday appealed to President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, the Sindh governor and the chief minister to intervene into the affairs of the Young Men Christian Association (YCMA) and appoint an impartial caretaker body headed by a priest of the Church of Pakistan or the Roman Catholic Church to run the association.

Addressing a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), he also appealed to the founder and leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf Hussain, and the MQM ad-hoc committee to order their party colleagues not to interfere in the affairs of the Church and Christian community.

Father Joseph Paul said the Sindh social welfare department had suspended the board of YMCA on allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds and appointed him as administrator of the association with four other members, namely Shahzar Shamoon, Shaukat Stephen, Stephen Emmanuel and Younus Ilyas.

He said when they went to take possession of the YMCA office, an MPA of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Shakir Ali, and Ms Safina Javed, an office-bearer of the MQM minorities wing, with policemen, stopped them and forced them to leave the YMCA premises, saying the caretaker body was illegal.

Later, another caretaker body comprising Ms Safina Javed as administrator and four other members was formed by the Sindh social welfare department to look after the YMCA affairs, he added.

“The most amazing thing in the whole matter is the appointment of a woman as administrator of the YMCA, which is a men’s association”, he said and added that the Muttahida’s intervention into the Christian community’ affairs was intriguing.

Father Paul further alleged that although the previous body headed by Sarfraz Lloyd was dissolved on charges of misappropriation and mismanagement, the ex-president of that body had been appointed as member of the new body.

He said they were also planning to approach the higher courts on the issue, and appealed to the authorities to take notice of political interference into the affairs of the Christian community and form an impartial body to look into the YMCA’s matters. — PPI