Karachi – 6th January 2006
MQM Founder & Leader Mr Altaf Hussain has stated that the livelihood of Urdu Speaking Sindhis or Mohajirs is linked with Sindh Province; they are not going to return to India or go elsewhere; their interest is with Sindh and they must not repeat the mistake of going against the aspirations of the local people to be shoved in the Red Cross Camps. The so-called Mohajir intellectuals who propagate that Kalabagh Dam is only a rural issue are not sincere to Sindh or Mohajirs. Mr Hussain affirmed that he or his workers will never be part of any scheme against Sindh. He vehemently announced that Kalabagh Dam will not be constructed and if the Establishment persist with building the Kalabagh Dam then MQM will stand with the people of Sindh. He demanded of the people at the helm of affairs to stop the ongoing army operation in Balochistan forthwith, enter into dialogue with the Baloch people, listen to the voice of smaller provinces and stop the bombardment – as this will be damaging for the country. He was expressing these thoughts while addressing the general workers meetings simultaneously in 17 cities of Sindh including Karachi, which was attended by thousands of workers, elders, women workers etc. The meetings were held in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Sanghar, Sukkur, Thatta, Badin, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Dadu, Larkana, Noshero Feroze, Qambar, Shahdadkot and Kashmore.
Explaining the difference between a Movement and a Political Party, Mr Hussain said that sometimes a Movement is compelled to participate in politics, however, its aim remains the completion of its mission, whereas, the purpose of a political party is to get into power. Elaborating on the meanings of “Mohajir” and refugee, he said that Mohajirs are those who left the birthplace of their forefathers, their memories and their cultural history and migrate to another land with a view to get settled there. He said that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was born in Mecca and migrated to Medina but after conquering Mecca he continued to live in Medina till his demise. On the other hand those who leave their country and take temporary refuge in another country are called refugees. And they return to their country once the situation improves.
Mr Hussain said that after the creation of All India Muslim League in 1906 until the 1940 Resolution was presented, the 100 million Muslims of Subcontinent were told that Hindu and Muslim are two separate nations and cannot cohabit. It was feared that after independence, the Hindu majority will oppress the Muslim minority, discriminate against them and make their lives difficult.
He said that to call the 1940 Lahore Resolution as Pakistan Resolution is wrong as the resolution presented on 23rd March 1940 does not even mention the word “Pakistan”. It is a fact that this was originally called Lahore Resolution and later renamed as Pakistan Resolution. The Lahore Resolution demanded that the Muslim majority provinces be declared as autonomous states. The other distortion of history to say that Allama Iqbal presented the concept of Pakistan in his 1930 Allahbad Address, whereas, he did not use the word “Pakistan” in his Allahbad Address. In reality, Allama Iqbal was furious with his student Raghib for passing this misinformation. Allama Iqbal expressed his anger and wrote to Raghib clarifying that he has not presented the concept of a separate country and this false statement must not be attributed to him. This historical fact can be verified with his son Justice Retd Javed Iqbal.
On 8th August 1947, Quaid-e-Azam while addressing the Muslims of India said that those Muslims who will remain in India should be loyal citizens of India thus discrediting the slogan that Pakistan will be created for the 100 million Muslims of the Subcontinent. The Muslim majority province of Bengal voted hundred percent in favour of Pakistan followed by Sindh. However, people of Bengal were labelled as traitors and today Sindh and its citizens are also being labelled as traitors.
Mr Hussain said that Allah Almighty has gifted him to speak the truth, which is not the case with many other leaders of the country. Addressing the Sindhi workers, Mr Hussain said, “you must have listened to the slogans and speeches of the so-called nationalists on bihari na khappan. But when hundreds and thousands of people from other provinces moved to Karachi including 3 million Afghans then why these so-called nationalists claiming to be loyal to Sindh never raised the slogan of Afghani na khappan and people of other provinces na khappan? On the one hand these so-called nationalists are accepting the 3 million Afghans but on the other hand rejecting the settlement of 250,000 stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh – why this double standard? The only reason for the slogan of bihari na khappan was to confront the permanent settlers of Sindh against each other. The Urdu Speaking and Sindhi Speaking live and die in Sindh Province, earn and spend in this province and are buried here. If the so-called nationalists were sincere with Sindh they would have said that all those whose lives and death are associated with Sindh are “Sindhis”.
Addressing the Urdu Speaking Sindhis, Mr Hussain reminded them that they were called makkar, tilyar, matarwa etc. In the era of Ayub Khan, Ghulam Mohammad, Yahya Khan and Zia ul Haq, thousands of Urdu-Speaking were forcefully retired from civil services. What have we gained after sacrificing 2 million lives for the creation of Pakistan? If we would not have migrated from the land of our forefathers to Pakistan then today the number of Muslims in India would have been far greater and a much stronger voice. If Mohajirs would not have faced discrimination and injustices in government offices and other departments then there would have been no need to create MQM or All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation. In 1970, the Awami League of Mujeeb-ur-Rehman won the elections with huge majority, therefore according to democratic norms, power should have been transferred to them. But a few prejudiced army generals of West Pakistan chose not to do so and ordered bombardment upon their Muslim brethren in East Pakistan. The Urdu Speaking people who migrated to East Pakistan sided with the Army in the name of Pakistan instead of supporting the Bengalis. Ultimately, on 16th December 1971, Pakistan was disintegrated; army surrendered and were taken to Indian camps. The Urdu Speaking people, who sided with the army, were confined to the Red Cross Camps. Today, after 35 years, they are helpless and the situation is such that their daughters are forced into prostitution and their sons to beg for survival. Thousands of soldiers captured by the Indian forces returned to their country after two years but those who sided with the Pakistan Army are still languishing in the Red Cross Camps. Their only crime was that they chose not to support the indigenous people and supported the army from West Pakistan.
Mr Hussain said that today, certain Mohajir intellectuals are misleading the Urdu Speaking Sindhis by describing the Kalabagh Dam issue as the problem of only rural Sindh. Such statements are disheartening. Sindh Dharti provided us shelter, which is the greatest favour and act of kindness on the part of the people of Sindh. In 1972, on the instructions of the Establishment, Mumtaz Bhutto and other so-called nationalists started the language riots. Today once again, the so-called nationalists and certain Mohajir intellectuals are trying to break the unity between the Sindhi Speaking and Urdu Speaking Sindhis. He said that in 1986, he started the efforts of uniting the Sindhi Speaking and Urdu Speaking people. “It was propagated that Altaf Hussain has sold himself to G M Syed, however, I remained determined”. As a result, the atmosphere of unity in Sindh improved. On 30th September 1988, Establishment once again through its agents, organised a massacre of Mohajirs in Hyderabad and targeted Sindhis in Karachi thus widening the gulf between Sindhis Speaking Sindhis and Urdu Speaking Sindhis. He was arrested by the Establishment, subjected to torture and during interrogation they asked how much he has been paid by G M Syed. Mr Hussain said that for the past 14 years, he has been living in exile because he refused to trade his conscience.
Addressing the party workers Mr Hussain said that if they want to see him as their leader then they must note that he will never become part of any anti-Sindh scheme nor would he allow his worker to become one. There is no way that he will support any wrong decision and will continue to call a spade a spade. He said that certain Haq Parast Ministers, Advisers and members of parliament are of the view that if Coordination Committee decides to quit the Government then we will not be able to serve the public.
Mr Hussain said, what can we do if the Government decides to impose Governor Rule in Sindh? Were we not part of coalition government with Nawaz Sharif in 1992 – why then an army operation was launched against us? He addressed those within the party who are becoming more political minded to study the Movement’s literature; to correct their thoughts and if not then quit the party. He vehemently announced that Kalabagh Dam will not be constructed and if the Establishment insist to build the Kalabagh Dam then the MQM will stand with the people of Sindh. He said that his 15000 workers were arrested from their homes and murdered in fake police encounters, 28 workers are still missing to date not even a single person has been held responsible or punished? Why General Naseerullah Babar who used to jump on our martyrs corpses is still free? He said that despite all the oppression he still wants to see a prosperous Pakistan.
Speaking on the Balochistan issue, Mr Hussain strongly condemned the bombardment on civilian population and targeting innocent women, elderly and children. We earlier condemned the attack on President General Pervez Musharraf in Kohlu and condemn this today. The Government must apprehend those who are firing rockets but not to target the innocent civilians. This act of oppression can prove destructive for the country. Mentioning the two assassination attempts on General Pervez Musharraf in Cantonment Area of Rawalpindi where many army personnel also died as a result and the attack on Prime Minster Shoukat Aziz in Attock, Mr Hussain asked whether Rawalpindi or Attock were bombarded as a result or was an army operation launched? Why then areas of Balochistan are being bombarded? Were the innocent people being killed in Balochistan responsible for firing rockets on the President? In 1971, innocent Bengalis were murdered; in 1973 innocent Baloch were massacred; in 1983 innocent citizens of rural Sindh were murdered; in 1992 innocent Mohajirs were brutally murdered in the urban centres of Sindh and today once again innocent people are being butchered in Balochistan and thus inviting the wrath of Allah Almighty.
He appealed to the rulers to stop the operation in Balochistan forthwith, the Baloch people are part of this country and instead of bombardment, negotiations must take place, listen to the smaller provinces and stop the use of guns and ammunition against them – as the use of arms and ammunition may lead to destruction of the country. The Holy Quran does not teach us to murder someone on the basis of religion be it Hindu, Christian, Jew, Sikh, Parsee or of any other religion. However, the so-called mullahs issue fatwas and teach to attack mosques and imam bargahs and to murder innocent worshipers. He said that everyone must beware of these mullahs and stay away from them. Addressing the citizens Mr Hussain said that the feudals, jaagirdars, waderas, pirs, so-called intellectuals have in the past provoked them to fight each other and will continue to do so in the future as well. However, the Urdu Speaking Sindhis and Sindhi Speaking Sindhis must beware of their propagandas and defeat all such conspiracies through unity. He also stressed upon the party workers not to get involved in matters like transfers, postings and local bodies matters; cooperate with the Town Nazims and Naib Nazims and pay attention to the Movement and Organisational work.