ALTAF HUSSAIN APPEALS TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS TO TAKE UP MOHAJIR ISSUE TO INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE.

The MQM Founder and Leader, Mr Altaf Hussain while addressing a press conference at the International Secretariat in London slated the death sentences pronounced by the Anti Terrorist Court in the case against Ahmed Saeed and Mohammed Salim. He termed the judgement as a tissue of lies and concoction on behest of the Nawaz Sharif government. While denouncing the atrocities committed by successive governments against the MQM, he pointed out that MQM is targeted because it is the only political party that represents middle class and ordinary people of Pakistan, unlike other major parties who are dominated by feudal autocrats with feudal backgrounds.

Basically, since its very inception, Pakistan has been ruled by feudal in collusion with army generals. MQM is the only political party which introduced middle class leadership in the country. This is not liked by the feudal oligarchy. They are trying their best by using state power to crush MQM’s popularity.

Mr. Hussain stated that Mohajirs who sacrificed two million lives for the creation of Pakistan have not been accepted as sons of the soil even after more than half a century. They are being treated as an occupied nation. Their rights are denied but there is no one to protect Mohajirs from state persecution. He asked the representatives of the media as to where should Mohajirs seek justice if these two young men are hanged on bogus charges and false judgement. This is not a judgement in law but slaying justice he declared. That is why I request you to publish the whole story with documentary evidence we have provided for you, so that the International Community and people world wide understand what is happening in Pakistan against the MQM. The question begs to be asked, is it the MQM that is a terrorist organisation, or is it the government of Nawaz Sharif?

He stated that Punjab is ruling the entire country for its own gains at the cost of the smaller provinces. If you visit Sindh, Balochistan or NWFP, and compare them with Punjab you will notice a remarkable difference in the standards of living. He said that Punjab is ruling the whole of Pakistan through remote control, and running the minority provinces for the interests of Punjab. Ethnic Sindhis are also victimised, persecuted and discriminated against. He pointed out that Sindh pays 70% of the revenue into the national exchequer, but receives only 3 to 4% for Sindh development. The rest is squandered away by Punjab. There is not enough funds provided to Sindh for education, housing, health, women’s welfare and maternity homes. If this situation continues then I ask you what is the future of Pakistan. People of all the different provinces are human, and should be treated as such. He said that MQM believes in the rights of all the ethno linguistic minorities including the religious minorities who should be treated equally as citizens of Pakistan.

Where should we obtain justice he demanded, when the court categorically states that Nadeem Nusrat was present in Karachi on 12 November 1997 when it was impossible for him to be there.

Concluding the press conference he stated that we have no choice but to request the International Human Rights organisations to take the Mohajir and other minorities case to the International Court of Justice, he declared. Having seen this judgement you can imagine what is going on in Pakistan. Mr. Hussain pointed out that more than 50 MQM workers have been awarded death sentences by the ATC courts so far. All these cases were concocted. In the case of Amir Ullah, he wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court alleging torture to extract his confessional statement, but the ATC still awarded him the death sentence while the justice of the Supreme Court did nothing. So where should we seek justice he demanded