KARACHI, June 11: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday night formally launched the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization and was happy to note the tremendous support announced for opening its branches in the academic institutions in the interior of Sindh.

The organization, upgraded from the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organization after 28 years, will work on a nation-wide basis to help inject a new sense of discipline in the youth of the country, and mobilize it for the uplift of the masses, he added.

The MQM chief made this announcement on the 28th anniversary of the founding day of the APMSO which, he recalled, got strength from the blood and sweat of the members who did not even hesitate to lay down their lives for the sake of principles.

Mr Hussain dwelt on the history of over quarter of a century but felt happy that a sapling which he planted on June 11 1978 had grown in strength to become a strong tree. This was a matter of immense pride for him and his colleagues, he said.

He announced that a party founded on the golden principles of changing the face of the country through the welfare of the poor and oppressed had remained committed to its motto. “The day is about to dawn when the poor will be happy and prosperous,” he added and said the revolution in the country, ruled by exploiters and the vested interests, was knocking at the door. It was only a matter of time, he added.

Since his telephonic speech from London was relayed from Karachi to Kashmore, MQM supporters and APMSO members from one station to the other assured him of their unstinted support.

They announced that APMSO units would be established in the Thatta Degree College and the Chandka Medical College in Larkana within a couple of days. Similar assurances also came from Nawabshah, Naushero Feroze, Kandhkot, Qambar, Shahdadkot, Badin, Khairpur and many other towns.

Altaf said he was happy at the response and congratulated them for being sincere and loyal to the party cause. Their continued support would lend him strength to change the face of the country, he said.

He described all those backing him as true sons of the soil. He said he was also a son of Sindh and would make sure that the rights of the province were secured.

MQM Rabita Committee members, including Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, and Planning and Development Minister Shoaib Bokhari, sat on the ground just below the glittering dais at the Lal Qila.

In his speech Dr Farooq Sattar reminded the audience that no one, not even ministers, parliamentarians, assembly members, adviser etc could deviate from party principles and had remained committed to its goals so far.

This was unprecedented in the history of the country where vested interests kept playing with the sentiments of the poor. He warned that parties ignoring the nation-wide demand for provincial autonomy and supporting the exploitative system of feudalism, and over centralisation of the system, would be rejected by the people.

He said time had been on the side of the MQM, the proof of which that members from the PML(Q), PML-N, PPP, and Jamat-i-Islami were joining the MQM in large numbers. The evidence could be collected by the change of wind in Rawlakot, Muzaffarabad, Mansehra and other areas of the NWFP and Azad Kashmir as well as in Punjab, he said.

Earlier on Saturday the 28th founding day of the APMSO was celebrated here at the residence of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief Altaf Hussain in Azizabad. The APMSO workers showed their enthusiasm and commitment to work for achieving the set goals of the party, cut a cake and sang party songs.