LARKANA: Condemning the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s demand for creating a new province in Sindh, a large number of workers of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) took out a rally and staged a sit-in in front of the MQM zonal office here on Jail Road on Wednesday.

Central leadership of the JSQM — Dr Niaz Kalani, Amjad Mahisar, Abdulllah Soomro, Sagar Hanif Burdi, Momin Samo and Mumtaz Shaikh — led the procession taken out from the Jinnah Bagh gate.

Carrying banners and chanting slogans, they gathered outside the MQM’s office after marching on the main roads of the city.

They kept raising slogans during the sit-in against the MQM’s stance of carving out a new province from Sindh.

The sit-in outside the locked MQM office continued for more than three hours in the presence of a heavy contingent of police. Talking to journalists, JSQM central senior vice chairman Dr Niaz Kalani said that under the directives of the central chairman of his party, Sanan Qureshi, workers had kicked off peaceful protests and besieged the offices of MQM in Shikarpur, Ghotki, Kandhkot and Larkana.

He said these peaceful protests were aimed at pressing the central leadership of the MQM to stop demanding Sindh’s division, saying that statements about the division would spoil peace.

It was a conspiracy that would harm peace, he said, referring to a speech of G.M. Syed he made in 1995 wherein he had asked them [the MQM] to be the part of Sindhi nation and play their role in making Sindh prosperous.

He described the demand for a new province as ‘Mili Bhagat’ of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the MQM to cover up their corruption.

He was confident that JSQM workers would understand it and carefully foil the conspiracy.

He said the JSQM would continue mounting pressure so that the MQM leadership withdrew the statement and promise to be the part of Sindh and desist from repeating such actions.

In replying to a question, Dr Kalani said: “Our protests are symbolic and totally peaceful. Offices of the MQM are closed and we have neither thrown any stone at them nor removed any flag.”

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2014