MQM CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE SLATES GOVERNMENT COERCION OF MQM OFFICE BEARERS AND WORKERS TO JOIN PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE (NAWAZ GROUP) THROUGH INTIMIDATION, BLACKMAIL AND HORSE TRADING

7 August 1999-Hyderabad

In a press conference held today in Hyderabad, the Co-ordination Committee of MQM slated the coercion of the Nawaz Sharif Government through its political agent for Sindh, Syed Ghous Ali Shah to force the MQM office bearers and workers to change their allegiance from the MQM to join the Pakistan Muslim League through policy of intimidation, blackmail and horse trading.

The Members of the Co-ordination Committee stated that the coercion of Nawaz Sharif Government has exposed its nefarious objectives of suspending the democratic process and the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. This was premeditatedly hatched with a view to illegally and undemocratically implant the Muslim League government in Sindh. They further said that this tantamount to further subjugation of Sindh, disenfranchising Mohajirs and Sindhis and enslaving them.

The Members of the Co-ordination Committee said that this coercion would, once again, not yield any results and Nawaz Sharif Government will face failure as it did in the past despite sanctioning and launching of "Army Operation" and committing near-genocide of the Mohajirs and the on-going State terrorism against them. They further said that even the orchestration of the murder of "Hakim Saeed" by Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and using this "Governmental murder" as allegation against the MQM failed to bring about any dent in the solidarity of Mohajirs, not only in Pakistan but world wide.

The Members of the Co-ordination Committee, quoting the paragraph of the "News International" of 6^th. August 1999 that said "The sudden rise in police raids and crackdown on MQM workers and supporters also paved the way for what Ghous Ali Shah said repeatedly --- the beginning of political process in the province. It has been witnessed during the last one week in Hyderabad that police had been witnessed during the last one week in Hyderabad that police had reached an understanding with the Muslim League leadership over a package deal against the arrest of Muttahida supporters". They expressed that this news report further said that Police would arrest the MQM supporters and workers and would release them on condition that they would say good bye to the MQM.

The Members of Co-ordinating Committee further said that many office bearers were sidelined by the MQM because of their criminal records that include bank robberies and looting. They emphatically said that it is the testimony of the terrorist manifestation of the Nawaz Sharif Government that has now formulated the policy of committing terrorism to terrorise and disenfranchise Mohajirs and Sindhis by coercing them through intimidation, blackmail and horse trading.