HYDERABAD: Differences among component parties of Sindh Action Committee (SAC) have started coming to the fore as no party leader is ready to take responsibility for the June 6 disturbances inside Bahria Town Karachi during a committee organised protest sit-in.

SAC wants all “anti-Sindh” mega housing projects shelved as it firmly believes these projects settle ‘outsiders’ in Sindh to convert indigenous population into a minority. The committee members, however, received flak on social media from Sindh’s literati and intellectuals over the violence the nationalist parties’ workers committed in BTK.

And within the SAC, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Bashir feels that though the government has not blamed activists of any single party for June 6 actions but SAC leadership is clearly singling them out over the disturbances.

When SAC leaders met at G.M. Syed’s residence in Jamshoro on June 12, JSQM-B’s Prof Atta Bullo and Naveed Memon faced embarrassment when they were made to wait for quite some time before being allowed to join the meeting and left in protest over some remarks by SAC leaders that they deemed inappropriate.

No SAC leader ready to own violence inside housing scheme

Later, Sindh United Party’s Roshan Buriro dissuaded them from boycotting the meeting and asked them rejoin it which they did over SAC chief Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah’s request. “We attended the meeting again despite all this on Shah’s request,” said Memon.

“Difference of opinion often take place at forums which discuss contentious issues. We shared our concerns and raised points before SAC leaders,” said Bullo, a retired university teacher and member of JSQM’s council.

He contended if their activists were being linked with arson on the basis of flags with emblem of axe they were carrying then what about the videos showing activists with other nationalist parties’ flags during the protest.

SAC insiders said that leadership wanted JSQM-B to take action against Ms Nayab Sarkash for indiscipline by issuing her show-cause notice to which JSQM-B leaders replied that she did not come under the party’s discipline.

JSQM-B’s representatives were told by SUP’s Syed Zain Shah, Jalal’s younger brother, that they should not expect SAC to launch struggle for anyone’s release. He was clearly alluding to JSQM-B chairman Sanan Qureshi’s arrest.

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party chairman Dr Qadir Magsi had made somewhat similar comments in his social media post. “While Sanan remains safe and sound even after arrest many activists produced before ATC had marks of violence on their bodies and heads,” said Dr Magsi while talking to Dawn.

He denied having hinted at agencies and JSQM-B nexus at the June 12 meeting and said that JSQM-B should dissociate itself from the activists who had taken part in the violence.

“We have indeed asked SAC to launch serious investigation into the June 6 violence to expose those who facilitated Malik Riaz and Sindh government through violence and acted as their proxies. We have not directly blamed JSQM-B for acts of violence and arson,” he said.

He continued: “We expect JSQM-B to avoid giving impression that SAC lacks unanimity of views and political understanding on [Sindh’s] core issues. Leaders, including myself and Jalal Shah, are facing the same cases for which Sanan has been imprisoned. My house was besieged by police but I managed to reach court somehow [for protective bail],” he remarked.

The June 6 protest has apparently catapulted young JSQM-B chairman Sanan Qureshi to prominence as he, to date, remains the only leader who is in jail. The way he made appearance before antiterrorism court in an armoured personnel carrier clearly reminisced popular style of his late father.

Sanan’s supporters were quick to draw parallels and shared pictures of his father and Sanan with similar broad smile that was his father’s hallmark whenever he would appear in courts to face cases of violence, sedition etc.

“It is only Sanan and other leaders of JSQM-B who are in jail, no one from any other party. The rest are on bail,” argued Memon, a trusted comrade of Sanan’s father.

JSQM-B on the other hand complained that lawyers offered legal assistance to Sanan voluntarily but SAC did nothing and decided that Jalal Shah, Dr Magsi, Sajjad Chandio, Riaz Ali Chandio and others would appear before ATC to seek pre-arrest bails after their protective bails expired.

SAC has not given up its plan of laying siege to Sindh Assembly during budget session. “We never announced date for protest outside the assembly. We plan to hold sit-in for 72 hours outside the assembly and we are presently mobilizing people for it,” said Dr Magsi.

He is critical of Sindh’s intellectuals and writers for their reaction to SAC’s protest. Jalal Shah did not attend call and his brother’s phone remained switched off when they were contacted for comments.

Noted writer Amar Sindhu admits: “Differences within SAC are coming to the fore as nobody in the committee is ready to own the June 6 incident. When we spoke about it we were greeted with abuses”.

But political groups and parties, she says, express resolve to show ‘zero tolerance’ for violence in any political struggle. “SAC’s declaration itself is questionable because it accepts SC’s decision. When SAC asks BTK not to overstep limits decided in Supreme Court verdict it implies that it accepts BTK’s certain limits. Even within SAC, people don’t support such declaration on BTK issue,” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2021