HYDERABAD: Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi on Wednesday appealed to the chief of banned Jeay Sindh Muttahdia Mahaz (JSMM), Shafi Burfat to give up armed struggle as the province cannot bear the burden of a “guerilla war” at this juncture.

He claimed that JSMM’s strategy was not only leading to killings of innocent youths at the hands of ‘state organs’, but it was also damaging Sindhi nationalists’ movement in the province, who he said were working for a peaceful co-existence through democratic struggle.

“About Shafi Burfat phenomenon, I’ll say that he should review his strategy and give up armed struggle as it doesn’t suit present environment of Sindh,” Magsi told journalists at a press conference here.

“Left out Sindhi youths should not become fodder for such an ill-timed struggle. We need a powerful nationalist and political movement in Sindh at this juncture.”

The STP chief talked about alleged custodial deaths, in detail, of Sindhi youths mostly belonging to banned JSMM, whose mutilated bodies are found in different parts of the province with regular intervals in the recent past.

“Shafi Burfat should have mercy on these youths and stop preparing their nursery as such youths are being picked up, maimed and killed by some powerful quarters within the state and no one claim responsibility for their custodial deaths,” he said.

Burfat heads JSMM and is believed to be hiding at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. He once was a part of Jeay Sindh movement launched by late G M Syed, a great exponent of an independent Sindh.

Syed had founded Jeay Sindh Mahaz in early 70s to raise formal slogan of ‘Sindhudesh’ (an independent Sindh).

Subsequently, his movement saw many a split, separately led by Abdul Khaliq Junejo, Dr Qadir Magsi and Bashir Khan Qureshi. Latest split was of Dr Safdar Sarki, who revived Jeay Sindh Tehreek, once formed by Bashir Khan Qureshi and Gul Mohammad Jakhrani and that of Shafi Burfat, who quit Qureshi’s Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz to create JSMM.

Magsi – who founded his own Jeay Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party in mid 90s after his release from prison and later deleted word ‘jeay’ from his party’s nomenclature – now believes in parliamentary politics having contested the 1997 general election from Thatta, which he lost to a PPP candidate.

“We differ with those forces which seek to break-up Pakistan and likewise we don’t raise slogan of Sindhudesh as we believe in strong Sindhi nationalist and political movement with a modified slogan of nationalism,” he stated.

Bodies of Sarvech Pirzado and Wajid Langah were found three days back in Nooriabad police station area. Before that, bodies of Waheed Lashari and Asif Panwhar were also found in upper Sindh area. They were said to be JSMM activist.

In 2012, JSMM’s secretary Muzaffar Bhutto was also allegedly killed in custody.

Dr Qadir Magsi said that the policy of throwing bodies of youths would take them to a point of no return. “These young men should be engaged in a dialogue if they say they don’t want to live in Pakistan… but their extra-judicial killing will not be allowed at any cost,” he said.

Magsi sought attention of international rights bodies to put an end to these incidents.

“UN should send its representative for fact finding,” he said, adding that the STP would hold protests from December 9 to 11 across Sindh and would write open letters to different state authorities.