HYDERABAD, Feb 15: Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party chief Dr Qadir Magsi has alleged that the Sindh government is being held hostage by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement which is working on an anti-Sindh agenda.

In a statement faxed to Dawn here on Tuesday, he observed that if the Khokhrapar route was opened, millions of people from India would pour into Sindh, converting the indigenous population into a minority.

Dr Magsi, who is also the president of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement's Sindh chapter, said the proposal to bifurcate Hyderabad district was also aimed in that direction.

He maintained that after creation of a city district government in Karachi, Sindhis were excluded from affairs of Karachi and now the same policy was being implemented in Hyderabad. He alleged that the MQM wanted to create city governments in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah to take over the control of major urban towns of the province.

He said Sindhis were being deprived of their inherent right to rule over the province. He urged Sindhis to foil conspiracies of the Muttahida. The STPP chief observed that Hyderabad was the political, cultural, literary and historical centre of Sindh and warned that any move to bifurcate the district would be strongly resisted. He also urged the Sindh chief minister to read through the 'game' of the MQM.

SNP: Sindh National Party chairman Ameer Bhambhro has said the rulers are bent upon creating ethnic riots by dividing Hyderabad on lingual basis. In a statement issued here, he said his party would hold a seminar on Feb 21 to chalk out a future protest programme against the division of the district. He said the recent visit of the Sindh governor to Hyderabad was aimed at mustering support for bifurcation of the district.