KARACHI, Oct 7: Founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain has said that the outcome of the LB election proves that Karachiites and people of other parts of Sindh oppose religious extremism and support pro-democracy and peace-loving forces that believed in and practised tolerance.

He spelt this out while telephonically addressing party workers in various cities and towns of Sindh on Thursday night to mark the victory of Haq Parast candidates in the local body election.

Mr Hussain urged the newly-elected nazims and party workers to respect the opposition and help develop a true democratic culture in the country. He congratulated the winning Haq Parast nazims amid jubilation and fireworks at the Jinnah Ground, in F B Area, where victory of Mustafa Kamal and Kunwar Naveed was celebrated.

“The elected nazims will have to carry along their opponents and avoid discrimination because development of their areas, the province and the country will have to be a joint effort.”

Referring to Karachi’s Nazim-elect Mustafa Kamal, Mr Altaf Hussain said that Mr Kamal, who used to sit on the telephone board at the ‘Nine Zero’, was embodiment of commitment to party ideology. He remained steadfast in trying moments and despite being arrested, he remarked. He also congratulated the elected nazim of Hyderbabad and those of other towns and talukas on their success.

Mr Hussain said that people of Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities and towns had proved that they were not with extremists or fanatics, rather they believed in liberal values, tolerance and democratic norms.

He said the result had once against proved the MQM’s firm belief in ballot and not the bullet. Pakistan’s middle class and the poor, he said, were peace-loving and not in favour of confrontation. Only two per cent feudal class is trying to pit them against each other, according to him. “The message of MQM is now attracting people of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan,” he observed, and hoped that the day was not far away when 98 per cent of the downtrodden would rule the country.

The MQM chief emphasized upon the newly-elected people to serve people without discrimination, and focus on improving power supply, sewerage, roads, traffic, education and health facilities, besides providing jobs to the jobless.

He expressed the desire to banish crime from Sindh and make the province a cradle of peace and amity. He said that positive attitudes and indiscriminate service to people would help them win over opponents.

Mr Hussain said that he held journalists and men of letters in great esteem. “They are the people who highlight the pain and agony as well as glory and ecstasy of the masses, but there are also fifth columnists in their ranks who would sell their conscience and write in favour or against on payment which is bad, and all such elements ought to be removed from newspaper establishments because they misuse their pen,” he added.

The Muttahida chief regretted that some of the analysts in their columns and write-ups had been presenting a distorted picture of affairs to their readers. They kept writing that the contest between Mr Mustafa Kamal and Mr Niamtullah Khan was a close one whereas it had been a one-sided affair from the beginning.