The Muhajirs must become staunch nationalists in order to obtain their legitimate rights and to free themselves from the injustices and deprivations being inflicted upon them.
#ہمارا_مقدر_17ستمبر
This was stated by the founder and leader of MQM, Altaf Hussain, while addressing gatherings organized under the banner of Mohiban Pakistan on the occasion of his 72nd birthday.
We accept all nationalists, therefore no one should object if the Muhajirs also become nationalists. The discriminatory treatment being meted out to the Muhajirs today in Pakistan as second and third-class citizens is regrettable. The Muhajirs must view this treatment in a historical context. Our forefathers had lived in undivided India for thousands of years, generation after generation. It is a bitter historical reality that the British, for their own interests, devised the plan to partition India. They cultivated the idea among Muslims that since Muslims were a minority in India, after the departure of the British they would remain under Hindu domination in united India. Therefore, Muslims should demand a separate homeland where they could live freely according to their religion. Our forefathers were unaware of this British conspiracy. For the sake of God, the Prophet and Islam, they sincerely led the Pakistan Movement, sacrificed two million lives, abandoned their homes, the graves of their ancestors, the memorials of their elders, and the memories of their childhood, and migrated from their ancestral land India to Pakistan, believing it to be the homeland of Muslims. Ironically, Pakistan was not created in the areas where the Pakistan Movement was run, but in the areas where the Movement was never even launched.
It has been 78 years since the creation of Pakistan, yet the descendants of the founders of Pakistan, the Muhajirs, are still not recognized as sons of the soil. On important national days, there is no mention of the Muhajir culture or heritage. After the creation of Pakistan, following the assassinations of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, and Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, Muhajir bureaucrats were systematically removed by successive governments. Under the cover of nationalization policies, Muhajir banks, industries, educational institutions, and insurance companies were seized. Later, the doors of government jobs and educational institutions were closed for Muhajirs. This discriminatory treatment has continued in every era. Today the situation is such that in Karachi not a single Muhajir Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner can be seen. Our elders made sincere sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan, yet today the descendants of the founders of Pakistan are treated worse than outsiders.
For the constitutional and legal rights of Muhajirs, I laid the foundation of the Muhajir Movement. In order to unite scattered Muhajirs on one platform, during the journey from APMSO to Muhajir Qaumi Movement and then to Muttahida Qaumi Movement, we crossed countless rivers of fire and blood. During General Zia Ul Haque’s martial law, I was arrested three times, sentenced to nine months imprisonment and five lashes, and offered various inducements to abandon the struggle for truth, but I could never be deterred from the principled struggle. When exploitative forces could not frighten me or buy me, an attempt was made on my life through a hand grenade attack. After that, on the insistence of my colleagues, I was sent to London where I have been living in exile for the past 33 years. Yet, not for a single day have I abandoned the mission of the movement.
Despite all the ups and downs, I have remained steadfast. Through MQM’s platform, I had organized and empowered the Muhajirs to such an extent, and created such an atmosphere, that in Karachi and other cities of Sindh, no miscreant dared to harass women, let alone assault them. But as a result of repeated military operations against MQM and betrayals from within, the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that today in Karachi, women are robbed in broad daylight, their honor is violated, and there is no one to stop these criminals. From the very beginning, I had warned my companions that the struggle for truth is not a bed of roses but a thorny path on which the feet of those who walk are pierced and wounded. But those who continue their journey despite all difficulties and hardships eventually achieve the destination of success. In this struggle for Muhajir rights, many people became frightened under the pressure of circumstances. Sadly, many not only became fearful but also turned into agents of the enemy. The traitors of the Muhajir nation, its Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs, did not even have the stature to be elected as councillors under their own names. But the movement made them ministers, advisers, senators, members of national and provincial assemblies, mayors and deputy mayors. Those who once struggled to arrange food for their families are now billionaires, stabbing their own nation in the back. Yet, despite the betrayals of these traitors and all the state repression, the loyal companions remain steadfast across Pakistan and all over the world. In Pakistan, even today, anonymous workers remain firm in their mission and purpose. These loyal companions are enduring imprisonment and the agony of enforced disappearances. On 16 September 2025, MQM leaders Nisar Ahmed Panhwar and Anwar Khan Tareen were also forcibly disappeared. MQM lawyers filed an urgent petition in the Sindh High Court for their recovery, but the court, while issuing notices, set the next hearing for 22 October 2025. This is extremely regrettable. I say to the deprived and oppressed Muhajirs that in order to secure your rights and free yourselves from injustices and deprivations, you must become staunch nationalists, for poison can only be countered with poison. I also state clearly that we have no objection if Punjabis, Baloch, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Seraikis, Kashmiris, Hazarewals, Gilgitis, or Baltistanis are nationalists. We respect all nationalists. Therefore, others should not object if Muhajirs also become nationalists. I urge all loyal Muhajirs to pledge that they will become staunch nationalists and carry forward the mission of the movement. My prayer is that, along with Mohiban Pakistan, all comrades become true nationalists, and grow so strong on an ideological basis that those who refuse to recognize the Muhajirs are one day forced to acknowledge us as a nation. I ask the companions of Mohiban Pakistan, keeping in view the financial difficulties of the movement, to establish a Muhajir Qaumi Fund MQF and deposit one percent of their income into this fund. On the occasion of my 72nd birthday, I welcome the participants of gatherings held under Mohiban Pakistan in various cities of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and other Gulf countries, and I thank them from the depths of my heart.
Altaf Hussain.
London.
Address to the gatherings organised under Mohibban-e Pakistan on the occasion of his 72nd birthday, 19 September, 2025.
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