NAWABSHAH: Sindh United Party (SUP) chairman and Sindh Bachayo Committee (SBC) convener Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah on Wednesday informed the audience at the Sindh Solidarity Conference, third of its series each held in different cities, that the elements working for division of the province wanted to trigger a civil war.

The event, held in the Nawabshah Press Club, was attended by leaders and activists of the political and nationalist groups forming the SUP as well as those belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI).

He criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for demanding Sindh division and the Pakistan Peoples Party for its ‘hypocrisy’ over the issue, declaring that the MQM and the PPP were two sides of the same coin.He observed that the MQM resorted to floating such ideas only to overcome its political isolation. The PPP, he added, was creating a situation of confrontation for which it was using the emotional slogan of Marvesun Marvesun, Sindh Na Devesun.

Terming the role of the two parties a dangerous political game, Mr Shah said “no Sindhi will be a part of this game”.

He advised the MQM to stop dirty politics and start working for peace and harmony. He said Sindhis must understand the purpose behind the demand for a Mohajir province, and stressed that they (Sindhis) had to protect the life and property of their Urdu-speaking brothers.

The SUP leader also appealed to anchorpersons of of all TV channels to act carefully and with a sense of responsibility in order to ensure that they did not foment hatred through their talk shows.

Prof Mushtaq Meerani of the Sindh Democratic Party said that integrity of Sindh could be ensured if all linguistic and other communities living in the province forged unity.

Kehar Ansari of the Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz said Sindhis and other permanent settlers should work together for the rights of the province.

The Urdu-speaking people, he said, were the integral part of Sindh population but the MQM did not represent all of them.

SBC chief Karam Hussain Wasan said the Urdu-speaking people could be found in all parties in large numbers and, as such, it was not correct to say that all of them were disciples of [MQM chief] Altaf Hussain.

Syed Zahid Hussin Shah of the PML-F, Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah of the PML-N, Qazi Nadeem of the PTI and Suroor Ahmed Qureshi of the JI also spoke.

Mohajir province a conspiracy, warns PTI

HYDERABAD: The demand for a Mohajir province is a conspiracy hatched to cause a carnage of the Urdu-speaking people, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Hyderabad leader and former MPA Usman Kennedy warned at a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said that those behind the move knew very well that a Mohajir province could not emerge on the map of Sindh until the Urdu-speaking people in large numbers sacrificed their lives in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Tandojam and other cities and towns of the interior of Sindh. He advised people to beware of the conspiracy.

Mr Kennedy said that making Karachi a province was part of this conspiracy. However, he said, he would support creation of a new province if Kotri was included in it.

He said that not the PPP but those who were demanding a Mohajir province were the ‘big enemies’ of the Urdu-speaking people.

He said he agreed that the Urdu-speaking people were still deprived of their rights but the MQM should tell them that how much it tried to get these rights while remaining in power over the past 25 years.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2014