KARACHI, April 7: Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (Ponam) has demanded equal status to all units of the federation and said if there was no justice with the federating units, such a federation could never be a strong federation.
This demand was made by Syed Jalal Mehmoud Shah, General Secretary of Ponam, at a news conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday where other leaders of the alliance were also present.
They included Qamar Bhatti of Jeay Sindh Qaum Parast Party, Ayub Shar of Sindh National Front, Ali Hasan Chandio of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, Hakeem Khan Mandokhel of Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, Riaz Chandio of Jeay Sindh Mahaz, Maulana Azizullah Bhoyo of Sindh Sagar Party, Zahid Hussain Baloch of Balochistan National Party and Yusuf Niazi of Saraiki National Party.
Responding to questions, he said Ponam was opposed to creation of more provinces, saying Sindh was not an administrative unit but a national unit and if at all there was a need for improving the administrative issues, why administrative divisions were being created and why functioning ones were being wound up.
Mr Shah said their alliance was striving to ensure justice with all provinces within the federation which could only be possible if all provinces enjoyed equal status.
He said in the present circumstances, Punjab had supremacy over three other units by virtue of its majority in population and in the armed forces and now through the move of National Security Council, efforts were being made to give army supremacy over parliament for all times to come.
Likewise, he said, in order to take permanent control of all resources of the oppressed nations, army was being given a role in the setup, which the Ponam condemns. He said there was no Mohajir in Sindh but Sindhis whatever language they speak and Ponam's doors were open for them.
Mr Shah, who is also former deputy speaker of Sindh, traced the brief history of the country in his statement in which he pointed out that the Muslim majority provinces had joined the federation of Pakistan on the basis of 1940 Lahore Resolution pledging to the nations that they would remain independent and sovereign.
But, he said, after Pakistan came into being, a peculiar "gang", comprising army and bureaucracy loyal to Britain, took over the country, ignored all pledges made to the federating units in the Lahore Resolution of 1940 and set up a worst kind central rule so that all resources of the federating units be taken over to exploit them for the benefit of Punjab under the cover of ideology of Pakistan and Islam, etc.
The Ponam leader recalled that whatever they were talking about today was not a unique matter as their ancestors and elder politicians, like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Sain G M Syed, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Haider Bux Jatoi, had also been demanding from the beginning equal status and justice with the federating nations and had warned from the NAP platform that if justice was not done to federating units, solidarity would be threatened.
"Instead of paying a heed to the warning, the ruing clique representing majority from the Punjab, termed these leaders anti- Pakistan and they were thrown in prisons, but later on all witnessed that the majority parted ways from the country.
Mr Shah said the rulers had not learnt any lesson from the tragedy as even today in Pakistan out of five, four nations - Baloch, Pakhtoon, Sindhi and Saraiki - remained deprived of their rights and resources which were being exploited to fulfil the interests of Punjab.
He said the oppressed nations - Sindhi, Baloch, Pakhtoon and Saraiki - who had been striving for their rights for over half a century against the high-handedness of Punjab had united them on the Ponam platform.
He announced that the Ponam would be launching its mass contact campaign from a public meeting on April 23 at Nishtar Park to protest and mobilise opinion against construction of Kalabagh Dam, Greater Thal Canal, cantonments in Balochistan, Gwadar Mega Project, unjust NFC Award and all anti-oppressed nations projects.
Mr Shah said they want to make it clear to the peace- loving forces, particularly the UN that the resources of oppressed nations were being exploited and were being spent on the development of Punjab, nuclear and missile technology and arms race in the region while Sindhis, Balochs, Pakhtoons were being forced to live in hunger and poverty.
