HYDERABAD: A multi-party conference convened by Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz here on Friday called for repatriation of all illegal immigrants, including Afghans, from Sindh to their home countries in line with Supreme Court’s relevant order.

Through a resolution, the conference also demanded that illegal immigrants living in Sindh be stripped of the domicile, permanent residence certificate, right to vote and right to hold property.

The conference resolved that the Sindh Action Committee (SAC) would continue to be part of the ongoing public mobilisation campaign on the issue.

JSQM chairman Sanan Khan Qureshi, who chaired the conference, said that the pace of the campaign would be accelerated. He lamented that rulers were not ready to comply with the apex court’s relevant order.

Convened by JSQM, conference demands expulsion of all outsiders from Sindh

He said his party had resolved to get all illegal immigrants expelled from Sindh. This conference, he added, was aimed at holding consultations with all stakeholders on the issue.

Senior JSQM leader Asif Baladi said that Pakistan Peoples Party was not protector of Sindh’s interests but it was tinkering

with the integrity of this province. He accused PPP of dishonesty with the vote of Sindhi people.

He said emancipation was the right of Sindhi people and Sindh was within its right to take its decisions. “Sindh will take its historic decision one day,” he vowed.

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) senior vice chairman Hyder Shahani remarked that “Sindh has been made Jerusalem, where outsiders are settled to convert Sindhis into a minority under a conspiracy”. He said that people of Sindh voted for PPP, therefore, it should refrain from working against interests of the province.

Qaumi Awami Tehreek vice president Dr Aziz Talpur said that ever since its invasion by Arabs, Sindh had become a colony and this had led to injustices and tyranny. He deplored that Afghans, Bengalis, Burmese and Biharis were settled in Sindh to turn Sindhis into a minority.

Awami Tehreek leader Sajjad Ahmed Chandio cited a 2011 report that suggested that around 2.5m Afghans, Burmese, Biharis and Bengalis were living in Karachi alone, and said this figure had increased substantially. He described settlement of outsiders as the biggest issue of Sindh. He noted with concern that the Supreme Court’s 2011 directives to the federal and provincial governments had not been implemented as yet.

He said that PPP had maintain an undeclared emergency in Sindh over the last 14 years.

Sindh Qaumi Party leader Nawaz Khan Zour suggested that Sindhis should not show emotional reaction, rather they should ponder over these issues seriously. He said no outsider could have the right to hold property and register vote in Sindh. He was of the view that since government received funds for refugees, so it would not repatriate them.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Sindh leader Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahiyoon, Porhiyat Mazahimat leader Masroor Shah, Zulfiqar Halepoto, Mohsin Joyo, Zulfiqar Qadri and others also spoke.

They noted that a campaign against Sindhis was launched on the social media but it died down soon because people knew that Sindhis were not weak.

They condemned unscrupulous Sindhi officers for issuing domiciles to outsiders “in lieu of money”, and selling Sindh’s lands at higher prices to them.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022