KARACHI, March 26: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has ordered an investigation into threatening letters and cellphone text messages sent to some lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan People's Party, says a CM's House spokesman.

The spokesman informed Dawn that about half-a-dozen members of the Sindh Assembly had received the threatening letters advising them to quit Karachi, calling it a 'Mohajir Suba (province)', along with their family members and “taste the experience of migration”.

“If you stayed on in Mohajir Suba despite receiving this advice, you will face the consequences. You and your family members are under our watchful eyes wherever you live within the limits of Mohajir Suba. You have very little time to pack up; so quit now, lest you should not be able to do so at all,” warn the identical messages.

The letters told the recipients that the 'Mohajir Qaum (nation)' had offered enough sacrifices over the past 63 years but development in urban areas of Sindh had been halted after (the Mohajir nation's) economic, social, political and educational exploitation.

“Therefore, we are now demanding our own province within Pakistan,” it says.

According to the spokesman, those who have received such letters or messages included provincial ministers Sassui Palijo, Sadiq Ali Memon and Abdul Salam Thaheem and lawmakers Humera Alwani, Rai Naz Bozdar and Sherjeel Memon.

He also quoted the chief minister as telling the media at the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional headquarters — the Kingri House — on Monday that the media was blowing the issue up out of all proportion. “However, an investigation is under way to track down the culprits,” he said, adding that nobody needed to get panicked over such things.

The issue came to light last week when an MPA informed the Sindh Assembly, which was in session, that she had received the threatening message. Later, some other lawmakers said they also received but ignored the threat. The chair assured some alarmed MPAs that the matter would be looked into. However, it appeared that no step was taken to track down the culprits. MPA Humera Alwani told Dawn on Monday that she had just received a similar letter by courier. “The mail does have an address and cellphone number of the sender,” she said. The sender's information was: “Tipu Sultan, Mohajir Suba Liberation Army, House No.15/26, B-1, Liaquatabad”.She said that before getting this letter, she had been sent threatening SMS and she accordingly brought this into the knowledge of the chief minister, home minister, provincial police chief and police station concerned.

“I am not afraid of such threats,” she said.

She was of the view that the threatening letters started to be sent to lawmakers soon after about a dozen women MPAs, including herself, and a couple of male members tabled a resolution in the house condemning the wall-chalking, demanding a Mohajir province, carried out across Karachi.

When contacted, MPA Abdul Salam Thaheem said that he had received such a letter by courier on Saturday.