HYDERABAD: Nationalists back call for May 9 strike
HYDERABAD, May 7: Almost all nationalist parties and other groups have backed strike call given by the Sindh Qaumi Ittehad on May 9 in protest against plans to build dams on Indus and demolition of Sindhi villages in urban areas.
They condemned the demolition of Sikandar Goth in Karachi and brutal police action against residents of the village.
Activists of the Sindh Qaumi Ittehad, a conglomerate of five major nationalist parties, held a demonstration outside the press club on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, Aijaz Memon, Sachal Gopang, Qurban Sodhro and Paryal Bughio said that the rulers wanted to destroy Sindh by constructing dams on the Indus River and villages were being demolished in big cities to expel Sindhis.
They said that Sindhi villages were being handed over to an ethnic group to settle their people.
SNP: The Sindh National Party staged a protest demonstration against the demolition of Sindhi villages.
SNP leaders Ashraf Noonari and Shabbir Inqalabi said that Sikandar Goth was established 47 years ago but it had now been declared as encroachment in the MQM’s tenure.
They said that nine million aliens had established 500 residential colonies in Karachi but none of them had been demolished.
They said that only Sindhi villages were being demolished to expel Sindhis from cities.
STPP: Sindh Taraqi Passand Party chairman Dr Qadir Magsi condemned arrest of several party leaders and registration of false cases against them.
In a statement, he said that this had been done at the behest of the MQM.
He said the STPP was the main party which had raised a strong voice against the demolition of Sindhi villages and this was the reason that its activists were being implicated in false cases.
Dr Magsi said the STPP would never ever surrender Sindh cities to an ethnic group.
He warned Sindhi turncoats that the MQM would not remain in power forever and they would be held accountable to Sindhis.
He demanded that arrested party workers should be released and false cases against them should be withdrawn.
SNC: The Sindh National Council has termed construction of Bhasha dam a death warrant against Sindh.
At a meeting of its central executive committee held here on Saturday, party leaders observed that the demolition of Sindhi villages in Karachi was tantamount to genocide of Sindhis.
It protested against police violence against residents of Sikandar Goth resulting in the death of innocent people.
The meeting said that the conspiracy to expel Sindhis from Karachi would be foiled by nationalist forces.
The meeting also took strong exception to the arrest and disappearance of nationalist leaders Dr Safdar Sarki, Nawaz Zounr, Muzaffar Bhutto, Sattar Hakro and Sikandar Soomro.
SSV COMMITTEE: Leaders of Save Sindhi Villages, Resources and Employment Legal and Technical Committee condemned the demolition of Sikandar Goth.
In a joint statement, SSV committee members Vishno Mal, Ayaz Latif Palijo and Muzaffar Sadiq Bhatti said that illegal immigrants from India, Bangladesh and other countries were being given Pakistani citizenship but Sindhi villages were being bulldozed.
They said this was simply intolerable.