HYDERABAD: The unified Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan held its first workers’ convention in the Pucca Qila ground on Sunday night.

Addressing the participants, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced that in-charges of the party’s various wings would keep working as usual. Those who have rejoined the party, along with Syed Mustafa Kamal and Dr Farooq Sattar upon merger of their respective parties in MQM-P, would serve as joint in-charges, he added.

Mr Siddiqui told the convention: “It appears that there is a ‘national consensus’ that Muhajirs should be pushed against the wall, and that they should be deprived even of their right to ensure sanitation in their streets”.

Pointing towards the big number of participants at the venue, Dr Siddiqui said that if these workers took to the streets then those at the helm of affairs and were designing their own system would find no place to hide themselves.

He said that it were the urban centres that served as lifeline of the country in terms of revenue generation. He said that MQM-P wanted to unite all communities on one platform to achieve the objectives of Pakistan’s creation.

He remarked that Muhajirs had rendered greater sacrifices for Pakistan than their share. Alluding to the Sept 30, 1988 ‘Hyderabad carnage’, he recalled that Muhajirs were massacred in this city and those who had hatched the conspiracy wanted to create a gulf between two permanently living communities so that PPP could not come to power.

But, he added, MQM helped PPP form its government in 1988. Had the MQM not done this, no one would have remembered PPP today.

Activists from rejoined factions to be made joint in-charges of the party’s various wings, says Siddiqui

He regretted that since then, PPP had been depriving Muhajirs of education, employment, healthcare and urban development. He said that quota system was being used against Muhajirs.

“PPP committed these crimes, which are considered to be war crimes as it sought to change demography of [Sindh’s] urban centres that are MQM’s strongholds,” he said. He reiterated that MQM-P would regain control of elected houses, now through street protests.

Syed Mustafa Kamal deplored that “genocide of Muhajirs is being committed”. He said there was disparity in the systems of the entire country, including Karachi and Hyderabad. “We are not even properly counted in censuses,” he said, and added that all three stages of local government elections were massively rigged.

“People witnessed policemen and dacoits stamping ballots and the Election Commission of Pakistan remaining unmoved even after seeing video clips of the stamping,” he said.

Mr Kamal pointed out that seven days had passed since the Jan 15 polling but all results of the election in Karachi had not been declared yet. “Favourites are being declared winners,” he alleged.

“This crowd demands inclusion of those 53 UCs into Karachi which had been conceded by government; and Sindh government should implement its own relevant letter,” he said.

Mr Kamal said he had a complaint against conscionable and educated Sindhis who were not with PPP and were often seen criticising its policies. “Why you remain silent on these injustices being committed against us?” he asked, and said it appeared that there was a consensus on these issues against Muhajirs.

Dr Farooq Sattar said that this gathering would be remembered as a historical one after the Oct 31,1986 event. He said that the conspiracy of not counting Muhajirs transparently and keeping them away from LG institutions through rigged polls was bound to fail.

He accused the ECP of working in collusion with the PPP to facilitate installation of the latter’s mayors.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2023