DADU: Several thousand followers of veteran Sindhi nationalist leader G.M. Syed travelled to Sann town of Jamshoro district from all parts of Sindh in scores of small and big convoys to celebrate his 121st birth anniversary Friday.

The convoys had started arriving Sann since Thursday evening to attend a musical function that continued till early Friday.

Those living around the town proceeded to the venue on foot in different rallies led by their local leaders.

The main function was organised by Sindh United Party (SUP), led by Syed’s grandson Jalal Mahmood Shah, close to the Syed family’s residence.

Several other functions were organised by offshoots of G.M. Syed’s Jeay Sind Tehreek (JST) within the proximity of the residence where the veteran leader has his grave. The offshoots included Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM) and its breakaway faction JSM-Riaz Chandio. A conglomerate of several other groups is led by Sindh Rahbar Committee, which also held its separate function.

Leaders, activists and supporters of SUP and all JST factions stood around Syed’s grave to pay homage to the veteran leader and shower on it rose petals before proceeding to the venue of their respective group’s programme.

Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah, who always led the SUP rally and presided over his grandfather’s birth and death anniversary programmes, could not attend the event this time due to his ailment, according to a party spokesman. In his absence, SUP President Syed Zain Shah performed Jalal Shah’s role.

A big birthday cake was cut at the SUP programme in the morning in the presence of hundreds of jubilant party leaders and workers. Another grandson of G.M. Syed, Syed Munir Hyder Shah accompanied Zain Shah at the ceremony.

The offshoots also cut birthday cakes at their respective programmes in a similar manner.

Zain Shah addressed his party’s function and recounted the services rendered by G.M. Syed for the uplift of Sindh, creation of Pakistan and wellbeing of the people of this province, especially the Sindhi-speaking community, besides promoting peace, love and nationalism through his ideology.

Zain Shah also strongly condemned execution of all those federal projects which, according to the SUP and other nationalist entities, were bound to seriously undermine Sindh’s interests and its people. These projects, he said, included taking over control of Sindh’s islands and lands; allotment of Sindh’s fertile lands to foreign and local investors in the name of development and prosperity; denial of Sindh’s due water share as per the 1991 Water Accord; digging of six new canals to draw water from Indus to irrigate lands in Cholistan and other parts of Punjab; the Green Initiative Pakistan; and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

The SUP leader also totally rejected the 26th Constitutional Amen-dment, saying that it practically nullified the 18th amendment and dismantled the entire judiciary.

Awami Workers Party leader Dr Safdar Abbasi, who is also the General Secretary of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), also attended the programme.

In his speech, Dr Abbasi described G.M. Syed as a “truthful leader” who, he said, never compromised on principles and always struggled to get Sindh’s basic issues resolved.

The AWP leader said that Sindh was still backward only because of PPP’s rule, claiming that the ruling party had pushed Sindh hundreds of years back. “And now it’s bent upon rendering Sindh’s land barren and also depriving its urban areas of water by clandestinely supporting the six canals project,” he said.

Leaders and workers of the Awami Jamhoori Party also celebrated the occasion by holding a function in Sann.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025