KARACHI, Dec 12: The Save Sindh Committee (SSC) has called for making the entire province free from illegal weapons and implementing a permanent ban on display of all kinds of weapons.

The committee held a meeting with Comrade Rochi Ram in the chair to review the law and order in the province in the aftermath of the recent ethnic trouble in Karachi and the tension that still prevailed in some parts of the city.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Yousuf Mastikhan, Prof Mohammad Noman, Saleh Ather, Abdul Khalique Junejo, Muslim Shamim, Usman Baloch, Munir Chandio, Dr Mohammad Raza, Parveen Saeed, Shamir Munir and Ashok Rajani.

In a resolution passed at the meeting, the SSC condemned the government’s “indifferent attitude” during the disturbances which claimed many lives, and observed that the government had failed to ensure the safety and security of the citizens.

The meeting warned the government against division of the province on the basis of caste, creed or religion, maintaining that this might harm the ethnic, religious and sectarian harmony that prevailed in Sindh for decades after Partition.

The SSC expressed its reservations over the term “mini-Pakistan” being used by certain government functionaries and politicians for Karachi, arguing that it seemed to be a deliberate attempt to portray Karachi as a separate entity and not a part of Sindh so that its problems could be looked into separately. It also opposed the frequently used terms of “rural Sindh” and “urban Sindh”, holding that this was being done under a conspiracy aimed against the integrity of the province.

The committee denounced terrorism in all forms and urged all political, religious and other organisations to adopt only peaceful means to achieve their objectives. It also stressed the need for maintaining political and cultural integrity of the province in all circumstances.