January 08, 2008	Tuesday	Zilhaj 28, 1428

HYDERABAD, Jan 7: The nazim of union council-2 of Qasimabad Mehboob Abro on Monday slammed attempts to fan ethnic riots over destruction of property during violence sparked by the assassination of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

He said at a news conference at the press club that the criminal elements took advantage of the situation by unleashing a reign of loot and plunder.

He termed Sindhis’ reaction to the assassination of their beloved leader as quite natural but stressed that the PPP and the democratic forces had nothing to do with the destruction of public and private property.

Even Qasimabad, which was predominantly Sindhi area, was the worst affected as all the movable and immovable property torched during disturbances belonged to Sindhis, said Mr Abro. He said that one also should not overlook the fact that a large number of villagers in the interior of Sindh helped out stranded passengers of trains and coaches during the riots.

Mr Abro claimed that the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto was being used as a pretext to foment ethnic riots and referred in this regard to an open letter released to media by Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Altaf Hussain.

Being a responsible leader of a political party Altaf should call for a survey to assess how much losses had been suffered by Sindhis, he said, adding, that Urdu-speaking Sindhis were their brothers and urged them to stay away from elements who were trying to fan ethnic riots.

He appealed to writers, intellectuals, journalists and people speaking different languages to play their role in foiling conspiracies aimed at spreading hatred among different sections of society.