HYDERABAD, Sept 18: The chief of the Muttahida Quami Movement, Altaf Hussain, has cautioned the government that if excesses continued against Sindh then the people of the province would knock on the doors of the United Nations.
He said this while addressing a public meeting at the GCT ground on Tuesday night.
He warned that when Sindh could vote for the creation of Pakistan it reserved the right to take back the vote. He hinted at the possibility of the right of self-determination.
Mr Altaf made it clear that he did not want to break Pakistan but at the same time he warned the establishment that the people of the smaller provinces would not tolerate “the slavery of the federation”.
He said that it would be in the interest of the country that the elections were held in a transparent manner.
Describing the meeting as an unprecedented show of unity between Urdu- and Sindhi-speaking people, he said that today people were present in the ground irrespective of caste, creed, and colour.
He focused his speech on the issues of water shortage, non-judicious NFC award, inadequate allocation of the total share of GNP towards the health and educational sectors, rising incidents of suicide, joblessness, and price hike.
He criticized those politicians who did not bother to solve the problems of the people, and added that these leaders constructed palaces and plundered the country while the people of Sindh remained deprived of jobs and water.
He said that despite 55 years’ excesses, the people of Sindh did not pick up arms as it was the land of Bhittai who disseminated the message of peace, brotherhood, and tranquillity.
He further said that G. M. Syed, Bengalis, Balochs, and Puhstoons were dubbed as traitors when they demanded their just rights.
He recalled those who had opposed the creation of Pakistan had become patriots, whereas those who had rendered tremendous sacrifices were labelled as traitors.
He said the people of Sindh would continue to face hardships but they would not tolerate slavery at any cost.
He reiterated that the centre should only deal with foreign affairs, currency, and defence.
He said that complete provincial autonomy in the light of the 1940 resolution should be ensured for the provinces.
He maintained that Sindh contributed 70 per cent of revenue while the other provinces contributed only 30 per cent, but when it came to the NFC award Punjab got the maximum share on the basis of population.
He said that if Punjab gets a bigger share, then it must contribute an equal share of money in terms of taxes.
He said that when the 1956 constitution was in the offing and Bengalis were in the majority the principle of parity was introduced. He wondered why the same system had become unjust now.
He said that the people of Sindh were living in abject squalor because of hunger and joblessness but they were not being given their due share of resources and the NFC award.
Demanding reconstitution of the police force in Sindh, he said that local people should be inducted in the force.
He said that the contract of recruitment in the army from Sindh should be given to the MQM and it would raise an army of 200,000 people in a year.
He said that the MQM did not have any personal feud with the feudal lords but they should mend their ways and refrain from creating hurdles in the MQM’s election campaign “failing which they would not be able to go abroad by boarding a plane from Karachi”.
Mr Altaf said that equal opportunities should be provided to the people of the upper strata and those belonging to the middle class.
He stressed the need for improving the judicial system.
He said that if the MQM formed the government in Sindh it would give three months to the centre to give Sindh its due rights, otherwise UN representatives would be invited to a press conference and the elected representatives would go home.
It must be mentioned here that Mr Altaf, who began his speech by condemning the gruesome killing of an MQM activist, Farooq Sabzari, in Lyari in Karachi on Tuesday, asked the crowd to observe a one minute’s silence and offer Fateha.