Khairpur
- 12 February 2002
MQM
Founder and Leader Mr Altaf Hussain has stated that the MQM Coordination has yet
to decide either to participate in the forthcoming elections or not, however, if
we are assured that the elections would be fair and transparent and would not
tantamount to "selection", only then the MQM Coordination will decide
to participate in these elections or not. If the Coordination Committee would decide to take part in
the general elections then the MQM would not only participate from Karachi and
Hyderabad but also nominate candidates from all over Sindh.
He was answering to the questions raised by the participants at the
Khairpur Press Club.
Mr
Hussain said that he has no desire to become the Prime Minister or the King.
He said that he only wishes to attain the rights of Sindh Province and
when Sindh would attain its rights then he would busy himself in writing and
reading. Replying to a question on
MQM and JSQM alliance, Mr Hussain said that the only difference between us is
that JSQM is riding on a bus named "Sindhu Desh", whereas the MQM is
riding on the bus named "Rights".
On the question referring to shifting of capital from Islamabad to
Karachi, he said that in the past to serve their interest the Establishment of
Punjab shifted the capital to Islamabad and now once again it is being suggested
to shift to Karachi in their own interests.
Mr Hussain notified the Establishment to keep the capital in Islamabad
and leave Karachi alone - as Karachi was the capital of Sindh and would remain
the capital of Sindh.
Mr
Hussain said that for the sustenance of Pakistan, it is now inevitable to award
the status of "States" and full autonomy to the provinces in
accordance with the true spirit of the 1940 Resolution.
In 1971, it were the corrupt Army Generals in collusion with the feudal;
and not the Bengalis who were responsible for the break-up of Pakistan.
If the country further disintegrates then the responsibility would lie
with the Establishment and not with the people of Sindh and Balochistan. The hatred of the Establishment towards the true leaders of
the Pakistan Movement could be gauged by the fact that in 1995 Azhar Mohani, the
great grandson of Maulana Hasrat Mohani, was extrajudicially murdered after
being brutally tortured. Instead of
acknowledging the sacrifices of the true leaders of Pakistan Movement, i.e.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Shaukat Ali, etc,
their sacrifices have been forgotten. G
M Syed also participated in the Pakistan Movement. Without his efforts Sindh would not have become part of
Pakistan. However, in return, he
was kept in confinement all his life. He
said that the new generation is not being informed about the true leaders of the
Pakistan Movement. Instead, Allama
Iqbal's quotations are broadcasted day and night over the radio and television.
He is promoted as the "creator of the ideology of Pakistan" but
it is not told that he was the one who formed Shafi League in opposition to
Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Mr
Hussain said that he is against no one and only struggling for the rights of
oppressed people of the country. He
said that his heart not only throbs for the oppressed Mohajirs and Sindhis but
it also throbs for the oppressed Punjabis, Pashtoons and Baloch.
Replying to question on the possibility of an alliance with other
political parties he said that it is on record that MQM whether within the
parliament or outside the parliament, has continued to fight the Sindh's Case
whether it be the Kalabagh Dam, National Finance Commission Award or the Water
Issue. Majority of those who have
been detained as a result of struggling for the rights of Sindh Province belong
to the MQM. He said that if any
political party is prepared to offer such sacrifices then we are willing to
cooperate. Replying to a question
of a lady present in the gathering, Mr Hussain said that we are also struggling
for the increase in the number of seats reserved for women and for their rights.
He demanded that it should be ensured that from Karachi to Kashmore each
and every farmer must be provided sufficient water for cultivation.
Replying to a question raised by President Khairpur Press Club Mr Mir
Mohammad Bachchal Shah, Mr Hussain said that MQM is not only the political party
of Urdu Speaking people but it is the party of all the people of Sindh and has
in its ranks and files all the linguistic groups of Sindh Province.