KARACHI, May 12: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Coordination Committee has condemned the move by the Punjab establishment to close down the archaeology department and museum in Karachi and transfer entire relics, books, scripts and artefacts to Lahore Fort.

Terming it a link of the same chain that has deprived Sindh of its wealth since 1947 the committee, in a statement, said that the first act of deprivation was committed when the decision was made to shift the federal capital from Karachi to Islamabad. This action was followed by systematic transfer of all key government offices, departments and head offices of major commercial units.

The committee said that the act of transferring wealth from Sindh to Punjab had been continuing unabated and over one hundred thousand artifacts worth over $20 million were being shifted to Lahore.

The committee appealed to President Musharraf to take serious notice of this move to transfer all the archeological relics from Karachi to Lahore and take steps to put an end to this nefarious scheme.

The Pakistan People’s Party has termed it a heinous conspiracy against the federation and survival of Pakistan and appealed to the higher judiciary and national security forces to take its notice.

PPP leaders Nawab Yusuf Talpur, Munawwar Hussain Suhrawardi, Jamil Soomro, Manzoor Wasan and Lal Bakhsh Bhutto, in a statement, said that with the passage of time designs of Gen Pervez Musharraf were being exposed who had been pursuing to divide Pakistan into small states. Gen Musharraf and his close associates had forced people of Sindh to remain away from their political leadership, there was unemployment among highly educated and skilled youths and due to non-supply of water in the Indus river crops and villages had been destroyed and the river plateau was presenting a desert look.

“And now historical heritage of the land of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were being openly plundered we want to ask Gen Musharraf and his close associates if Sindh is a conquered territory,” the statement added.

Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party leader Gulzar Soomro addressing the party meeting said that the Punjab under the patronage of the federation had made Sindh its colony and had gone to the extent in exploitation that Punjab now had become active to eliminate its history, relics and its culture and transfer of historical relics, heritage, museums and library from Sindh to Lahore was an open proof of its aggression. He said “Punjab is determined not see remaining Pakistan survive.”

Sindh People’s Youth Organization president Dr Fida Hussain Mirani and Secretary Information M. Shafi condemning the move has warned that if this anti-Sindh decision was not withdrawn with in 24 hours the SPY would launch a protest campaign.

Former Senator and Chairman of the Sindhi Adabi Board Hussain Shah Rashdi expressing shock over the move termed it, in a statement, a sinister move amounting to daylight dacoity.

“One is at a loss to understand the logic behind this wholly immoral, illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted decision. It is rather intriguing that at the present sensitive times when there is mounting mistrust between Sindh and the Punjab over a number of issues, mainly being the distribution of water, and the rapidly eroding faith in the Federation, such a provocative step be initiated to further fan the feelings of heart burning.”