THOUSANDS of Baloch migrated to Sindh centuries ago. Many of them now speak Sindhi, many still speak Balochi. Almost all of them still retain their Baloch identity.

Thousands of Pathans migrated to India over the length of the British Raj. Their descendants, most of them born in Indian provinces, have little to do with Afghanistan or Northern Pakistan.

They still claim themselves to be Pathans. There are thousands of Punjabis in Karachi whose ancestors have been living here for decades. No one expects them to shred their Punjabi ethnicity, and call themselves Sindhis.

I hate ethnic (and religious) politics. But if you expect only one group to behave in a certain way, it is just not possible. I cannot believe educated and (somewhat) rational people would be so naive as to dismiss ethnic associations in the case of (just) Urdu-speaking people.

Asad Shairani

Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 1st , 2014