THE COUNTRY CAN ONLY
BE STRENGTHENED AND STABILISED IF ALL PROVINCES INCLUDING SINDH ARE GIVEN
COMPLETE AUTONOMY -- ALTAF HUSSAIN
IF 1940 RESOLUTION IS WRONG THEN THERE IS NO
BASIS FOR MINAR E PAKISTAN IN LAHORE
London
29 June 2002
Founder
Leader of the MQM Mr Altaf Hussain said that Sindh was deprived of rights before
creation of Pakistan and she had remained so until today. Mr Hussain demanded of
the people at the helm of affairs that all the provinces should be given
complete autonomy. Except currency, defence and foreign affairs all matters
should be delegated to provinces. In defence all provinces should be given equal
representation. He firmly asserted that country’s strength and stability
solely depended upon those measures. He expressed those views in a telephonic
address to a gathering of people, intellectuals, journalists and political and
social workers at a local hall in Larkana, Sindh. A large number of women also
attended the gathering. He said that in the Sindh Administration, police and law
enforcement agencies local people were in minority while people from other
provinces constituted a majority in those institutions. He cited British rule in
which the people who were brought from Britain filled important posts. People of
smaller provinces including Sindh did not posses the authority to run the
affairs of provinces independently and Sindh had become a colony of the
Establishment. 
He
said that whenever question of representation of Sindhi and Urdu-speaking people
in armed forces was raised it was responded that those people themselves did not
join such forces. He said that if President Pervez Musharaf would give the MQM
task for six months it would prove that it could constitute an army composed of
the people from Sindh. He said that loyalties of Sindhi and Urdu speaking people
were also doubted. The irony of fate was that it was Sindh that under the
leadership of Mr G M Syed endorsed the Pakistan Resolution but he was called a
traitor. Urdu speaking people rendered lots of sacrifices they were also termed
as traitors. Bengal was the only Muslim majority province that tendered cent
percent votes in favour of Pakistan, however, they were also termed as traitors.
While in Punjab until last there was anti Pakistan government of Unionist party
but those people were perceived as loyal. He further added that majority of
generals in the armed forces belonged to Punjab, however, they were gifted land
in Sindh instead of Punjab.
Mr
Hussain asked that never such actions were taken in Punjab like over fifteen
thousand Mohajirs were murdered in Sindh Operation, the way in which innocent
Sindhis were fired during the MRD Movement and the manner in which bombardment
was carried out upon Balochis in Balochistan.
He said that whenever he mentioned those facts he was alleged that he was
against Punjabis. Mr Hussain clarified that he was not against Punjabis. He said
that since he was a son of the soil of Shah Latif his message had always been
love. He firmly asserted that neither he had any animosity against Punjabis in
the past nor had he any hostility against them at present and had always
considered them as friends. He had always offered support for the deprived
people of Punjab. He asserted that his struggle was against the unjust policies
of Establishment. He said “Operations” were carried out in Sindh on the
pretext of action against traitors, dacoits or criminals. He asked the people at
the gathering that was Punjab free of any dacoits. The people replied that there
were dacoits in Punjab. Mr Hussain went on to say that robbery were carried out
in Sindh as well however, it was never subjected to such “Operations”.
The people of Sindh were called with various
derogatory names and were often termed as dacoits. In fact the dacoits were
those who were responsible for devouring the national exchequer and those who
were responsible for the dismemberment of the country. Mr Altaf Hussain pointed
out that the prime minister from Sindh Mr Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto was sent to the
gallows where as the prime minister from Punjab Mian Nawaz Sharif was sent out
of the country with all his wealth and family despite being sentenced from the
supreme court of Pakistan. There is
no justice in Pakistan. Mir Murtaza
Bhutto was lured into coming to Pakistan then mercilessly murdered during his
sister’s tenure as prime minister, but Ms Benazir Bhutto never informed her
voters as to who were his assassins? He
vowed that whenever MQM would be in a position of power it would investigate all
the murders of innocent people including that of Murtaza Bhutto.
Mr Hussain
pointed out that the so-called nationalist leaders and feudal lords are very
vocal about the rights of Sindh but when they came in power they conveniently
forgot all about that. The same individuals were vociferous in their
denunciation of Mr Altaf Hussain but do not mind when a governor was appointed
from outside Sindh province, they in fact offered all their support.
He said that public couldn’t be hood winked forever.
They are now becoming conscious and fully appreciate that the so-called
nationalists and feudal lords had been siphoning the wealth of Sindh province. He pointed out that the future of both, the Urdu speaking and
Sindhi-speaking people of Sindh was together.
They would live and die together. The so-called religious parties also
had a role in creating the rift between Sindhis and Mohajirs. The MQM
democratically ousted these parties from urban Sindh. With the blessings of God and teachings of Shah Latif Bhaiti
both the communities were coming closer. He
implored that the time was ripe for us to stand firmly together and launch the
movement for the attainment of fundamental rights of the people of Sindh.
The land of Shah Latif was screaming for liberation from the colonisation
by the establishment.
Mr Altaf
Hussain said that the people of Sindh provided shelter to the Urdu speaking
migrants, it was now their turn to take lead in the sacrifices for the rights of
Sindh. He emphasised that Sindh provided shelter to his family, so with all his
abilities he would continue to strive for the rights of the people of Sindh.
He reminded the audience that he had no desire to hold the offices of
president or the prime minister, he simply wanted to achieve the rights for the
down trodden and oppressed. He said
that he had continued his mission during the last eleven years from abroad;
during that time along with his brother and nephew thousands of MQM workers were
assassinated and many thousand workers were languishing in prisons on fabricated
charges but he continue to raise his voice against those injustices, oppression
and for the rights of common man. The
establishment castigated us when we demanded provincial autonomy in accordance
with the 1940 Lahore Resolution. If
to mention 1940 Resolution was wrong then there remained no logic for existence
of Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, he added. This was really a wrong attitude that
must change if we aim to progress. That
very attitude was responsible for the dismemberment of the country.
He demanded for full provincial autonomy with the exception of three
functions of: defence, foreign affairs and currency that would remain with the
federation. He further reiterated that all the provinces should be represented
equally in armed forces. The country would get stronger with such actions.
Furthermore, the lesson was that the people could not be subjugated by
force. Finally, he paid
overwhelming tribute to all the workers for organising that gathering.
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