KARACHI: “You need to understand the basic issues of Pakistan to understand the issues of Sindh,” said educationist, scholar and writer Dr Jafar Ahmed during the Sindh Unity Conference, a people to people dialogue, organised by Sindh United Party and Pakistan Qaumi Mahaz-i-Azadi at the Urban Resource Centre here on Wednesday.

“There is an influx of people in Sindh, most of whom happen to be Pakhtuns. According to the Constitution, one is allowed to go anywhere in Pakistan in search of livelihood but then how to manage the influx? Should there be better infrastructure in places so that people don’t migrate? Then there is also the population growth in Sindh. We never discuss this but we should. Political parties should listen to think tanks to ponder over questions such as where we see ourselves in the next 50 or 100 years. There is a need to look into such things to make policies. And policies and plans are made looking at resources, infrastructure, etc,” Dr Jafar Ahmed explained.

“There is a collapse of education infrastructure here. The teacher societies here are only interested in increase in their salaries and allowances. They don’t take up student issues. There is a problem of resources here, too. Such issues lead to ethnic issues. Therefore, they need to be addressed. Then there comes up talk of breaking up the province, which is a non-starter,” he said, while also adding that there is a need for the quota system here.

Columnist Naseer Memon said that conflict happens in societies but political parties need to play a responsible role. “Here we ignore the bigger issues and fight over small ones. And conflict changes into violence through operators who are at work here. The politics of violence has hurt the Urdu-speaking the most here. They felt a sense of insecurity.

Educationist and writer Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan said that there needed to be unity in Sindh as far as the running of affairs was concerned. “The local bodies, cantonment areas, etc., should all come under one mayor. And yes, I also agree that the quota system is important. But there is also a need for transparency. Solving many such issues should help bridge the gaps in Sindh,” he said.

He also said that he had also noticed the influx of Pakhtuns in Sindh, many of whom also happened to be powerful politicians. He said that this could be remedied by getting ahead in education and technology.

Architect and town planner Arif Hasan said that he arrived in Karachi as a four-year-old. “Karachi was a part of Sindh back then and it is a part of Sindh now. And Sindh is a part of Pakistan. So think of yourself more as Pakistani than Sindhi,” he said.

Then speaking about some changes that he had been noticing here over the years he spoke about women and education. “Earlier, you wouldn’t find the women so free as they are now. The girls in interior of Sindh are getting education and this little change will go a long way to change the province in just 10 years,” he said.

Sindh United Party’s vice president Jagdeesh Ahuja, member of Central Committee of Pakistan Qaumi Mahaz-i- Azadi Syeda Tehseen Fatima, Economist and writer Mushtaq Mirani, writer Dr Mehtab Karim also spoke.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022