KARACHI - Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party chief Dr Qadir Magsi said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan People’s Party are the two sides of same coin as they have always exploited the people of Sindh with their common agenda of looting the public exchequer. “We consider all the people living in Sindh whatever the language they speak as Sindhis,” he said while addressing a large public gathering here Sunday.
Titled ‘Sindh Mohanji Aman’ (Sindh is my mother), the public gathering was organised by the nationalist party at MA Jinnah Road near Mazar-e-Quaid. The rally was attended a large number of the party workers who first gathered at Gulshan-e-Hadeed from where they marched towards the Numaish Chowrangi. The participants, including women and children, were carrying the party flags, banners and placards and chanted slogans against the proposed division of Sindh.
It may be noted that the Sindh Home Department had announced not to give the party take out the rally, while the containers and other hurdles were also put in the way of the participants.
Dr Qadir Magsi in his speech condemned the hurdles created by the Sindh government, saying that thousands of people came to attend the gathering despite the PPP government’s undemocratic attitude.
The nationalist leader came down hard on the ruling PPP for its show of Sindh Festival, terming that disco dance is not the culture of the province. He said that the people of Sindh are secular, who won’t accept religious extremism in the province.
Regarding the MQM chief’s demand for a separate province in Sindh, Dr Magsi warned, “Sindh is our motherland and the people living here are all Sindhis, so ethnic division is intolerable.” He announced that his party will fight for the protection of Sindh, if anyone demanded its division.
Magsi urged the people living in Sindh including Urdu, Punjabi, Balochi, Siraiki and Pashto-speaking to live with peace and harmony. He also appealed to the people to put the ethnicity aside and live in the province as Sindhis.
The nationalist leader reiterated his demand to give Sindhi the status of a national language along with Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi and Siraiki languages.
“All non-Sindhis, who came to Sindh after 1954, must leave the land”, he said demanding the federal government to expel the illegal immigrants to their countries, as the step would help control terrorism in the country. He said that through this public rally he has come with message of love as he is not against the MQM or any other party.
The nationalist leader further said, “We want a democratic Pakistan with equal rights for all the people as no one will tolerate religious extremism.” He demanded the federal government to cleanse the city through expediting the operation against the terrorists and criminals.
Dr Magsi said that mafias are being supported by the PPP leadership, saying some builders have planned to introduce residential schemes around Karachi city as they could make more money. He announced to resist all mafias that have bad intention for Sindh and its people.
Other leaders of the party also addressed the rally.