HYDERABAD: Leaders of Mutta­hida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan have reiterated the demand for a separate province and said that Urdu-speaking community and MQM-P will fight to the end for their identity, urban rights and respect.

Law-enforcement agencies should take notice of provocative statements given in reaction to the party’s demand for separate province, they said while addressing participants in ‘Hyderabad March’ the party organised here on Sunday evening. The march started from central jail road and culminated outside Mehfil-i-Hussaini.

MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that Mohajirs and MQM-P would fight to the end for their identity and rights. “The decisive moment had arrived for all those who had deserted MQM for ‘fear’ or ‘bribe’ to return to the party fold. We will accept them wholeheartedly,” he said, adding if they took long to make up their minds they might have to prove ‘haq parasti’ to claim rights.

The party offers an olive branch to deserters

He said the march had crushed all conspiracies and overran ‘Pakistan of Bhutto, Zia and jagirdars’. Mohajirs formed a barrier between Sindhu Desh and the shattered dream of Sindhu Desh. “Creator never betrays its creation. Mohajirs are creators of Pakistan. People have witnessed what we did when it came to Pakistan’s integrity,” he said referring to Aug 22, 2016, speech by the party supremo against Pakistan.

“We sacrificed our love and boundless respect for anyone,” he said.

He said that if Karachi was head of ‘evacuee Sindh’ then Hyderabad was its face. Mohajirs had brought their Pakistan on their shoulders under an international pact between two new governments.

It was a pact between heirs of legacy of 5,000 year old civilisation of Sindhi Hindu Samaj and refugees from India’s minority provinces. United Kingdom, Comm­onwealth, United Nations and allies of European Union were its witnesses besides Quaid-i-Azam, Gandhi, Nehru, Liaquat Ai Khan, Atley and Radcliffe, he claimed.

He said that Mohajirs settled on properties left by Hindus in Pakistan and Hindus were compensated vice versa in India. Quoting author Hamida Khuhro, he said, Sindhi Hindus held 40pc of farmland while 20pc was mortgaged. This 40pc farmland was evacuee property.

Amir Khan said that regardless of threats over their demand for the separate province MQM-P would finally get it. PPP failed to intimidate people of Hyderabad even when its mothers and sisters faced bullets in May 1990 Pucca Qilla operation and when 250 people were killed and maimed on Sept 30, 1988 in the city, he said.

He said that people of Hyderabad would have to show unity once again like they did in 80s to get their separate province. The party which opposed MQM-P’s demand was anti-Mohajir, he said.

Khawaja Izharul Hassan urged law-enforcement agencies to take notice of the provocative statements given in response to MQM-P’s demand for the separate province.

“You are telling us you will give us bodies. MQM’s policy of peace should not be taken as its weakness. Any violent reaction will be accordingly responded,” he warned.

He said that whenever MQM-P asked to hold Sindh’s rulers accountable it was taken to undermine Sindh’s integrity. A PPP minister threatened that the university would be built in Hyderabad over his body as if MQM-P had demanded opening of a ‘casino’ in the city, he said sarcastically.

He said that MQM-P’s Karachi march was followed by anti-Pakistan rally and demanded registration of a case against Sindh government under antiterrorism law for facilitating the rally. Why everyone was silent on it, he wondered.

He said that MQM-P would be staging rallies if Rs1,100bn works were not properly executed in Karachi. The committees had been formed but works had not been started yet, he said.

Without naming Mustafa Kamal he criticised him for taking credit for development in Karachi and said that since MQM-P held portfolios of finance and planning departments and the chief minister needed the party’s backing, the funds were released for Karachi city government to enable the then nazim to work.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2020