HYDERABAD: Pakistan should be considered as a pluralistic state in line with the Lahore Resolution 1940 to accept the sovereign and autonomous status of different nations living in the country.
This was demanded in a resolution adopted at the 122nd birth anniversary programme of late G. M. Syed observed by the Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM) on Tuesday at the local press club.
Other resolutions passed on the occasion called for accepting the right to self-determination to all nations including Sindhis.
The meeting observed that religious extremism under government patronage, loot of Sindh’s land and usurpation of resources and influx of outsiders were manifestations of 21st Century colonialism. It rejected all those excesses.
Party holds gathering to commemorate G.M. Syed’s 122nd birth anniversary
A resolution also rejected the six new canals and dams over Indus River. It demanded interprovincial water distribution in line with the 1945 water agreement. The right of Sindhi people should be recognised over Sindh’s natural resources as well as income, it added.
The meeting also called for an end to settlement of outsiders in Sindh, stating that all immigrants, including Afghans, should be stopped and all those reaching Sindh from upcountry should be deprived of the right to hold properties and vote for 30 years. It said the religion should be separated from the state.
Speaking on the occasion, JSM chairman Abdul Khaliq Junejo in his presidential address said that religious and political exploitation of Sindh was continuing in the country due to a nexus between religious extremism, jagirdari and bureaucracy. He said G.M. Syed had challenged all those three forces. He stated that Syed had struggled against them while floating the idea of a modern nation.
He maintained that since the rulers had failed to defeat the ideologically of G. M. Syed, therefore, they waited for his death.
He said the rulers wanted to eliminate the JSM as well after Syed’s death. He added that Syed’s ideology was gaining ground not only in Sindh, but all over the world.
He claimed that the G. M. Syed’s ideology was presented in a wrong way by the rulers intentionally in order to mislead the world. He said that again the Syed’s politics was being misinterpreted.
He said six canals over Indus River were aimed at rendering Sindh barren.
That would not be accepted at any cost, he vowed, adding that the JSM would keep struggling for the Sindh’s right to self-determination, autonomy and against all anti-Sindh projects.
Others who also spoke on the occasion included Porhiyat Mazhamat Tehrik president Masroor Shah, National Party Sindh chapter president Taj Marri, Communist Party of Pakistan Sindh secretary Comrade Iqbal, JSM vice-chairman Ameer Chandio, Hashim Khoso and Mohib Azad advocate.
Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2025