TANDO ADAM: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who is also the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, today [Jan 21] urged the Urdu-speaking section of the Sind population to join his party in large numbers to make Pakistan stronger and more stable. Addressing a large crowd … Mr Bhutto said that the PPP stood for a strong and united Pakistan.

He assured the people that his party was doing, and would continue to do, justice to all sections of the population. “All persons, whether they are Mohajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans or Baluchis, are equal partners in the development and progress of Pakistan,” he declared. … He added: “Some reactionary parties are trading in hatred — putting one community against the other — to safeguard their own interests.” He appealed to the Urdu-speaking people not to be misled by the propaganda of these reactionary parties which were working against the interest of the people.

“We are all Muslims, descendants of Adam, and we have to work hand in hand with all for the development and progress of our motherland,” Mr Bhutto said. He reminded … that some reactionary parties had in the past tried to create bad blood on the language issue.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2024