HYDERABAD, Jan 14: The programme manager, South Asia Partnership, Irfan Mufti, has said that the IMF and the World Bank have spread their tentacles throughout the world through multinational companies and added that five big multinational companies of the world had made investments of three trillion dollars in South Asia and South East Asia.

He was speaking at a seminar organized by the Sindh Organisation for Awareness, Creativity and Humanity on the topic of “the problems faced by South Asia for peace and development” at the press club here on Monday.

He said that till recently Islam was used as a political strategy in Pakistan but the speech by President Gen Pervez Musharraf had changed the situation.

He, however, said that in order to run the country, some other political strategy would have to be evolved and added that it had become necessary for Pakistan to bring about a transformation in its economic policies.

Mr Mufti was of the opinion that after the address of the president to the nation, the risks to the country had also increased and there was likelihood that the international intervention would also increase.

He said the civil society should have the right to place its demands before the state for adequate representation of the people.

He said that it was incumbent upon the political parties to come forward but unfortunately the political parties did not seem to have any interest in the changes at the international level which had taken place after Sept 11.

STPP: The chairman, Sindh Taraqqi Passand Party, Dr Qadir Magsi, has hailed the steps announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf in his televised address to the nation, particularly the banning of extremist religious parties.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said that the president had taken positive steps to curb sectarian violence and religious extremism.

He, however, said that unless these announcements were implemented in letter and spirit, the situation would remain the same.

He claimed that the oppressed nations-Sindhis, Balochis, Pakhtoons and Seraikis, right from the beginning had opposed the religious extremism and sectarian terrorism which had now been acknowledged even by the rulers.

The chairman said that religion had always been used as a weapon to deprive the oppressed nations of their rights as enjoined in the 1940 resolution.

He stressed the need for eliminating hatred between the nations along with religious hatred.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Anjuman-i-Tajiran-i-Sindh, Zakir bin Zahid, Abdul Aziz Sanbhari, Turab Ali Khwaja, Rasool Bux Shaikh and others have also congratulated the president for taking courageous decisions to eliminate terrorist activities.

They expressed the hope that the western countries and India would also change their policies in the light of the announcements made by the president of Pakistan in his televised speech.