HYDERABAD: The Sindh United Party (SUP) has urged all communities living permanently in Sindh to launch a joint struggle for national interests of the province and foil all conspiracies to trigger ethnic riots.

The call was made by Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah after being elected as chairman of the SUP unopposed in the intraparty election held during the party’s general council meeting on Saturday evening, according to a press statement issued in Karachi.

The council also amended the party’s constitution to create the slot of ‘president’ before the election, in which Zain Shah was elected to the post unopposed.

‘Linguistic entities permanently living in Sindh have to wage joint struggle for national interests’

Speaking at the council meeting, Jalal Shah alleged that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), in order to increase their respective vote banks, were once again conspiring to trigger ethnic riots among the communities permanently living in Sindh.

“The people of Sindh and its national movement have to foil this conspiracy,” he said, and added: “Both Sindhi- and Urdu-speaking people are permanent residents of Sindh”. He said opportunist and corrupt politicians had destroyed this province, and held PPP particularly responsible for the destruction of infrastructure during its 14-year rule over Sindh.

The SUP chairman said that democratic values had to be introduced within a party first if one was talking about democracy in the country. Practical measures were needed to bring in democracy, he added, and pointed out that the SUP demonstrated this by holding the intraparty election.

He said SUP leaders and activists were not afraid of cases and incarceration.

Mr Shah said the party leadership and workers were faced with challenges. “We have to launch a struggle on road for the rights of Sindh on the one hand, and to participate in local government elections to elect patriotic leaders by defeating opportunist feudal lords, on the other,” he added.

Earlier, office-bearers of the new central body were elected for a two-year term. Besides Jalal Mehmood Shah (chairman) and Zain Shah (president) unopposed, Roshan Ali Buriro was elected as senior vice president, Ameer Azad Panhwar, Jagdesh Ahuja, Ejaz Samtio and Agha Qamar Mashwani as vice presidents, Ameer Ali Thebo as secretary general, Mustafa Chandio as deputy secretary general and Khawaja Naveed Ameen was elected as secretary information.

The intraparty election was held under the supervision of SUP’s central election commissioner Roshan Kalhoro.

The general council also gave approval to the amendments proposed in the party’s constitution.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2022