KARACHI, April 3: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, Altaf Hussain, on Sunday declared that people of Sindh had been through the game of vested interest groups who had divided and exploited the people of the province through ethnicity and other means. He was telephonically addressing the launching ceremony of Rashid Jamal’s book which focused on contradictions between Sindh and Punjab.

Mr Hussain said for long the elite of the vested interest groups had caused great loss and damage to the people of Sindh through divide and rule policy. However, he added, this would not be done any more. He made it clear the he was not against the common man of Punjab, who was also suppressed by the elite group of vested interests.

He also cautioned against such policies that nurtured extremism and stressed the need for resolving national issues through dialogue by accepting each others’ rights as equals.

The launching ceremony, presided over by Dr Farman Fathepuri, was addressed by Jamiluddin Aali, Jam Saqi, Ibrahim Joyo and others. They all praised the efforts of Rashid Jamal and regarded it as an authentic documentation of the history of Pakistan. Jamiluddin Aali emphasized that the book should be included in syllabus.