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KARACHI: Syed Khursheed Shah belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday apologised and retracted his earlier statement after facing criticism from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Addressing media representatives, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly said his statement that ’the use of word Mohajir (immigrant) was an insult’ was not meant to hurt or offend any one and added that he takes back his words in case they caused any offence.
He clarified that he himself was a Mohajir since his ancestors had moved to Sindh several centuries ago but now he considered himself as a native. He added that MQM chief also used to call the province as ‘his motherland’ so it was better if the community identified itself as Sindhis rather than Mohajirs.
Shah once again reiterated that his words were not meant to offend any one and said that he took his words back if they had hurt anyone.
Earlier, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi addressing a press conference at the party’s Nine-zero headquarters slammed the statement made by Syed Khursheed Shah and demanded its retraction.
The MQM leader said that the statement by the NA opposition leader had hurt the sentiments of the Urdu-speaking community.
He questioned the timings of Shah’s statement on the eve of his party’s rally in Karachi tomorrow.
The PPP’s plan to reinvigorate the party through the rally is being seen as a major response to a series of public gatherings and sit-ins by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which recently staged a successful political show in Karachi, as well as those held by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).
The ruling party in Sindh expects the rally under its young chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to mobilise its workers in Karachi and other parts of the province.
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Oct 17, 2014 08:43pm
MQM - Please don't make a non issue an issue. Most of the so called native Sindhis are themselves immigrant as rightly said by Mr. Khurshid Shah. The notion of Mohajir is now dead. Don't try to politicize it any more. Urdu speaking people should move on and just be a Pakistani first and then a Sindhi if they live in Sindh or Punjabi if they live in Punjab as their identity.
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Oct 17, 2014 08:44pm
We have to stop this ridiculous rhetoric of Muhajir, Sindhi , punjabi , Baloch , Pathan or Kashmiri. Any one living in Pakistan is a Pakistani as anyone accepting Kalma is a Muslim, no matter good or Bad.
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Oct 17, 2014 09:12pm
Khurshid Shah is a reasonable person. A matured politician. His apology is welcome
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Oct 17, 2014 09:13pm
MQM gave just and timely response to Shah's derogatory remarks. Such things should not go unnoticed. MQM's response is appreciable. Thanks Muttahida---!
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Oct 17, 2014 09:30pm
shame on mqm for still supporting ppp even after what mirza had said before...that's why mqm has lost moral support from its core-base. shame on ppp and its thugs as well !
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Oct 17, 2014 09:37pm
Khursheed & Imran Khan needs to learn lessons both are against word 'Muhajir' the way Khursheed explained and word Muhajir is a very respected word in Islamic word it's not a 'Gaali'. Muhajirs are reality.
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Oct 17, 2014 09:41pm
The slip of the tongue speaks what a person has in mind. Well the fact will not change with apologies.
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Oct 17, 2014 09:44pm
Don't know when we will start calling our selves Pakistani than Sindhi, Punjabi, Pathan, Mohajir, aur Baloch. Don't know if Khurshid Shah in "Pakistan" National assembly represents "Pakistan" or Sindh or PPP.
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Oct 17, 2014 09:55pm
What can you expect from a meter reader turn politician turn millionaire ???
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Oct 17, 2014 10:01pm
Yes, the word Muhajir was insulting. They have every right to the province they are living in. They should be called Urdu Speaking Sindhis
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Oct 17, 2014 10:17pm
yes khurshed shah is matured politician, and this is reality anybody know that MQM represent Mohajir.In Karachi majority of people said we are Mohajir.
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Oct 17, 2014 10:33pm
Even after 65 years you are called mohajir, is this why you partitioned India.
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Oct 17, 2014 11:14pm
The MQM backed the PPP-Z for 5 years ..........by doing so it today stands diminished, even in Karachi.
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Oct 17, 2014 11:30pm
@ghanshyam and the rest are still Punjabi/sindhi/Patahan so let all be Pakistani and after that what ever you like to be SO WHAT COME FIRST IS P A K I S T A N only.
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Oct 17, 2014 11:40pm
Khursheed Shah you have earned my respect. I was born in karachi and consider Sindh my home.
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Oct 18, 2014 12:39am
@Fahim
Totally agree with you.
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Oct 18, 2014 12:47am
Khusheed shahs who claims to be decendent of the holy Prophet should realise that the prophet pbuh and his companions who migrated from Mecca used to call themselves mohajir. The word is not gali. All four kholafa e rashdeem including hazrat Ali were called muhajirs
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Oct 18, 2014 01:27am
@Imran He may be representing anyone but certainly not the Urdu speaking immigrants. I admire his courage to come out and say what he thinks. Others harbor the same feelings but do have guts to come out and say it.
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Oct 18, 2014 01:31am
Here lies the problem.No body says they are Pakistani. It's always their ethnicity first. Look at the world. Every country where ethnicity comes first is torn and remains backward. How about from now on use I am Pakistani of sindhi ethnicity?
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Oct 18, 2014 02:05am
More Noora Kushtii.
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Oct 18, 2014 02:36am
All members of my family, from both the maternal and paternal sides, migrated to Pakistan in 1947 in pursuit of the grand dream of Pakistan. We never referred to ourselves as 'Mohajirs', but were proud to call ourselves Pakistanis.
Also, the MQM party members sound very illogical when they refer to themselves as Urdu-speaking people. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, so Urdu is everyone's language.
MQM leaders should stop calling themselves Urdu-speaking mohajirs, and start behaving like real Pakistanis, no matter in which Province they live.
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Oct 18, 2014 03:33am
Shah sahib is having a lot of slip tongue these days,earlier instead of Pak flag he said. Teranga,,also at several occasions in NA,there was a slip of tongue by others also.I think all should not take such slip of tongue seriously,after all Shah Sahib has apologize,and also revealed he himself is a mohajir hence its ok.The age factor be always seen please.
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Oct 18, 2014 03:48am
Why is Rizvi making a big deal ? We are not talking about mohajirs who left Mecca and went to Madina - we are talking about Muslims who migrated from India to Pakistan about 65 years ago, how long they want to keep on calling themselves mohajir ? I believe Mr, Rizvi was born in Pakistan, grew up in Pakistan, his supremo Altaf Hussain even does not call MQM, mohajir Qaumi Movement any more. So what is bone of contention with Khurshid Shah ?
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Oct 18, 2014 04:42am
Why does Haider Abbas Rizvi call himself Urdu speaking. The entire Pakistan is Urdu speaking.
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan.
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Oct 18, 2014 04:47am
@Babar Khan, where did Imran Khan come into this. You are unnecessarily dragging him into this mess.
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Oct 18, 2014 10:21am
So what does MQM has to say about it now!
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Oct 18, 2014 10:24am
@ghanshyam Facts please. India was not partitioned subcontinent was
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Oct 18, 2014 10:28am
@Zainab where are you getting your facts from or perhaps you did not witnessed rally by IK twice that should be enough to tell you most of the immigrant support IK because of his philosophy not ethinicity
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Oct 18, 2014 10:31am
@Freda Shah are you going to deprive MQM of the one thing they bank there votes from,we all know there credibility they have been in power politics since 1989, you do the math,there politics and maulana diesels politics is no different!
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Oct 18, 2014 02:34pm
@Babar Khan - Argument is between Rizvi & Khurshid Shah ,a mohajir & and a local Sindhi both from Sindh. Why are you dragging Imran K in this this war of words ?
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Oct 18, 2014 04:12pm
May be he shouls step down from his position?
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Oct 18, 2014 05:14pm
@ghanshyam why Mahajirs have to write down immigrant on Army selection form? Why in every institution you have to write mother tongue? why qouta system is here only in Sindh? u r dirty mind as ur leader. he studied in Oxford but his speech looks like he did not studied in oxford? ur only task is to spreat hatred. wat a mind set? what education? wow
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Oct 18, 2014 06:12pm
Khurshid Shah must know well that Mohajirs are the vein through which the blood of Sindh is travelling. Chocking Mohajirs will give Sindh a heart attack. Mohajirs always wanted to stay in Sindh like Sindhis, they never wanted to be called Mohajirs but circumstances created by PPP & some other Sindhi nationalist parties forced the Urdu speaking migrants to not only call themselves Mohajirs rather take pride in calling themselves Mohajirs. Basically it is PPP that by implementing the highly biased Quota System lay the foundation stone of MQM & thinking on parallel lines. They talk of few Shaheeds, Mohajirs have become tired of counting their Shaheeds. Sindh is a land of love & peace, Mohajirs have forgotten their sorrows in the greater interest of Sindh, PPP & other Nationalist parties should reciprocate & do away with hate generating comments & speeches, one such example is the latest by PPP core committee leader Khurshid Shah. Inflicting deep wound & saying sorry is a way to inflict still deeper wounds.
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Oct 18, 2014 09:28pm
@Fahim go through Islamic history; you'll find many references using terms Mohajireen and ansar. Ask Mr. Khursheed Shah, why he's still using word 'syed' with his name that shows his ancestors came to Sindh from Arab countries. Ask Mr. Liaqat Baloch, why he uses Baloch with his name when he is living in Islamabad or Lahore or Karachi and the list goes on------
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Oct 18, 2014 09:45pm
If Muhajir or Immigrant is a bad word why leaders and people in USA are proud to call this Country Nation of Immigrants.
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Oct 19, 2014 03:41am
@Ashraf Ali M. Nayani
Updated and educate yourself with latest political knowledge ...People of USA hate new waves of immigratns who dont assimilate in USA society...
So, indian muslim immigrants must learn the lessons from contemporary world politics and assimilate themselves truely in Sindh and it will ensure them more peace adn progress instead of behaving as biharis of bangladesh who fought with local bengali natives.
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Oct 19, 2014 04:54am
@AKNasser Yes Altaf Hussain and others may have been born and raised in Sindh but they are still not given Sindh domicile! Why the discrimination? This is the actual bone of contention. No matter what mohajirs do they are not given Sindh domicile. Not having a Sindhi domicile effectively means that they are given least preference when it comes to admission to govt jobs and universities. You see the discrimination now?
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Oct 19, 2014 05:56am
I was born in Karachi and my parents immigrated from Delhi. Am I a "mohajir" or a "Sindhi". Why can't I get a Sindhi domicile? why is a Sindhi domicile refused to me? So , does that mean I am forced to remain a "Mohajir"???? If people still cant see the discrimination and injustice then please tell me why? We are forced to remain a "Mohajir" and face discrimination unless all Karichites of Urdu ancestory are given Sindhi domicile.
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Oct 20, 2014 05:48pm
Khurashid Sahab.... Baat ko toolo phir bolo....
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Oct 22, 2014 04:42pm
MQM has played the Muhajir card many times now. people born and bred here in Sindh are all sindhi. MQM and PPP should stop using ethnicity to do their politics and do something for the improvement of the province.
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Oct 22, 2014 06:02pm
MQM should stop playing the "Mohajir" card. A pakistani is a pakistani regardless of his ethnicity.
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Oct 22, 2014 06:24pm
Mohajir term was used to identify those people who came to Pakistan from India as a result of partition. Now it is the fourth and fifth generation of Mohajir. Who are fully settled in Pakistan. Why do these people still like to be called Mohajir? To me the word is used for political reason but I consider it bad politics. Here I would like to draw a parallel from Canada. A person who comes here on immigration visa he / she is called immigrant. In three years or so he or she is granted Canadian citizenship. Once person is Canadian citizen neither he identifies himself as immigrant nor it is ever mentioned at any official level. political agenda should be centered around the welfare of the people and not around ethnicity of people. Most of the parties in Pakistan including PPP and PMLN bank on ethnic votes termed as Sindh Card or Punjab Card etc. This should stop. PPP should not just blame MQM but should also sweep before their own door. Mr Shah is best advised to think before he speaks so he won't be required to issue apologies.
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