JSQM plans to besiege Muttahida offices over ‘Sindh division plan’

HYDERABAD: Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz has announced its plan to lay siege to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) offices in three districts to force the latter to withdraw its demand for a separate province for ‘Mohajirs’.

JSQM chairman Sanan Qureshi, speaking to journalists in Qasimabad after chairing a party meeting on Tuesday, said that the party was launching a phase-wise campaign against the MQM’s demand for a Mohajir province. In the first phase, the party would lay a siege to MQM district offices in Ghotki, Kandhkot and Shikarpur on Oct 26, 27 and 28, respectively, he added.

He said that the ‘protest siege’ would force the MQM district chapters to advise the top leadership to stop demanding division of Sindh.

Mr Qureshi said that that Urdu-speaking people were brothers of Sindhis, adding that they should dissociate themselves from the MQM. “No one in Sindh can compromise on the integrity of the province,” he argued, and declared that JSQM workers were ready to lay down their lives to safeguard Sindh’s integrity.

Announcing the next line of action, the JSQM chief said if the MQM did not withdraw its demand for a separate province, his party would take thousands of people to Karachi for a sit-in outside the party’s headquarters Nine Zero.Other JSQM leaders Amjad Mahesar, Kehar Ansari, Saghar Hanif Burdi and Abdullah Soomro were also present.

JSQM vice chairman Dr Niaz Kalani speaking to the media said that whenever the MQM talked about the rights of Sindh, his party supported it but now it was talking about division of Sindh. He said the JSQM believed that the PPP and MQM were dangerously hand in gloves on this issue.

STP backs strike call

The Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) on Tuesday announced its support for the Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) call for a province-wide strike on Thursday (October 23) against the MQM demand for a separate province.

The announcement came after a QAT delegation, led by its secretary general, Anwar Soomro, called on STP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi and discussed the issue with him.

Dr Magsi said all Sindhis stood united for the integrity of Sindh and were ready to lay down their lives for the motherland.Meanwhile, a QAT announcement issued on Tuesday said that a party delegation led by senior vice president Abdul Qadir Ranto called on Sindh United Party (SUP) president Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah and Sindh National Movement (SNM) general secretary Ghulam Mustafa Chandio to seek their support for the strike call.

It claimed that the strike call was also supported by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Awami Ittehad Party, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014

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Oct 22, 2014 09:35am

New provinces are a must; not just in Sindh, but all over Pakistan. Period!

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Ashar Hameed

Oct 22, 2014 10:03am

If development and true freedom comes at the cost of some lives then so be it. The urban population of Sindh is extremely fed up of being governed by those who consistently get votes and power only from the rural Sindh. They have neither represented the urban population nor have they served it in any way in the past 45 years! Division based on autonomous administration is a prime need of the hour, actually it was needed 30 years ago when political leaders decided to divide and rule us based on ethnic hatred and scaremongering. The tactic has been used well for the past few decades but it has to stop now. Rural Sindh does not want an LG system, they do not want development and do not care about hard work or dignified means of income then they are most welcome to their style of living but their imposition of the same on us Urban folks is just not acceptable any more! We Karachiites do not want free meals because we have the tools and the will to earn a dignified livelihood and we have the vision to develop and prosper to rival top cities of the world......but first, we need to break these extremely strong rural chains!

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atta

Oct 22, 2014 11:17am

@HH You wish.

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IMRAN SHAH

Oct 22, 2014 11:36am

New provinces are inevitable for better performance and administration. What's wrong if there were two Sindh, North Sindh and South Sindh. Now there is only one Sindhi CM, then there would be two Sindhi CM. Opposition of division is nothing but political gimmick, a common poor Sindhi has nothing to do with it.

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Fazal Karim

Oct 22, 2014 11:43am

Due to free distribution of land resulting in Kuchi abadis there has been phenomenal rise in Karachi population mostly non sindhi speaking. Within next ten years Karachi population will be forty million thus Sindh Assembly will be ruled by non sindhis.Then Sindhi nationalists will beg for separation of Karachi from Sindh.

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Ishrat

Oct 22, 2014 11:48am

Time for a dhana.

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Mirror Image

Oct 22, 2014 11:49am

JSQM has no idea that Sindh has already been decided by their feudal masters. It was divided when quota system was imposed here. By the way, let the biometrics based census be held here in Sindh. It will automatically finish this injustice. The balance of power will tilt in favor of urban Sindh, the population of which has exceeded the number of interior Sindh. Thanks to the unchecked migration from up-country. Besieging headquarters of MQM will not affect MQM. Their real headquarters are in Hyderabad and Karachi. Can you dare come close to them?

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Dani Mirza

Oct 22, 2014 12:01pm

These types of medieval parties head should be sent to abroad for education. That’s how they can realise that small units are easy to manage. It is not division of Sindh but decentralisation of power. .

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Sid

Oct 22, 2014 12:02pm

it is not about WISHING, it only sounds LOGICAL. All political parties talk about betterment of ppl of Sindh. However, one cannot ignore the FACT that there can be better control and progress over everything if the huge area is segmented.

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Dani Mirza

Oct 22, 2014 12:16pm

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Paras

Oct 22, 2014 12:24pm

@Sid Will You please explain the *Logic* in a very Logical way behind segmentation?

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khanm

Oct 22, 2014 12:27pm

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion. let us calm down the emotions first before we apply the logic... Human beings lose their logic in their vindictiveness.

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Ahsan

Oct 22, 2014 12:51pm

The fact that after more than 60 years we are still called urdu speaking or muhajir is the very reason why a separate province is demanded. I would like a prominent 'Sindhi' politician to come out and say that if you are born in Sindh you are sindhi too. If not then you can see my point as to how we 'urdu speaking' get discriminated subconsciously by the sindhis and demand a separate province

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Hakim

Oct 22, 2014 12:58pm

It's a long due thing, a new province must be established and there is nothing wrong with that.

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aMAR

Oct 22, 2014 01:07pm

@ Dani Mirza The problem is not with education but lies with implementation. If you are true to what you are saying, then you are cent percent correct. Otherwise, what is prevalent in Pakistan is completely opposite. One thing is said, other is executed.

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MASOOD

Oct 22, 2014 01:24pm

New provinces are must in Pakistan. They are the same people who do not want any progress in Pakistan. Every province including Sindh must be divided in to 2 for better administration. Protesting parties are lethargic parties as we experience since 30-60 years

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Khalid

Oct 22, 2014 01:34pm

The question that needs to be asked is who will benefit or lose out by having more provinces?. Why would PPP be so violently against the idea?. India is 4 times bigger than Pakistan in terms of land, then why do they have 28 states?. I believe people who feel that they are being discriminated against would look for a reason to goverened separately. This is all happening because successive governments in Pakistan have ONLY served their own. Bring real democracy and no one will even think of additional provinces.

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Fahim Cheema

Oct 22, 2014 05:06pm

@Dani Mirza Similar are the views of Israelis about Palestinians. We need to condemn such expression of bias and hatred.

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Shafiq Khan

Oct 23, 2014 02:12am

@IMRAN SHAH : True, new provinces are inevitable, north sind and south sind, both provinces will develop, people will have more say, education, health, police, sports, hospitals, universities will all develop. We will have 2 CM, 2 High courts, so cases will be decided quickly. more competition and less corruption.

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kirther

Oct 23, 2014 05:04am

MQM should adopt tit for tat strategy, MQM has nothing to loose only Sindhi wadaras and rural Sind will end up to be losers they cannot sustain themselves and depend on Karachi for financial resources, tax evaders from rural Sind must learn to generate their own resources.

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Sid

Oct 24, 2014 03:51am

I suggest friends to go UP and CP to make their ideal province there. No room for province in Sindh. Successful Shutter down strike made it clear that people want to remain unite in Sindh.

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