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What do Sindhi nationalists want?
Despite a ban on public demonstrations for five days under section 144, a closure of all roads leading to the conflict-hit Lyari, and arrest warrants issued in his name under Maintenance of Public Order, Awami Tehrik leader Ayaz Latif Palijo managed to address a controversial gathering that may raise ethnic tensions in Karachi.
Addressing the event titled Shaheedan-e-Mohabbat-e-Sindh Jalsa, he announced that he would collaborate with the Baloch against the MQM. Among those who attended the rally were Ali Hassan Chandio of Sindh National Movement, Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto, and Awami National Party's Sindh chief Sultan Bahadur - all seemingly a part of what can best be described as a new ethno-political force.
In the remarkably large gathering, Ayaz Palejo - who has now allied three smaller Sindhi ethnic parties to form the Sindh Progressive Nationalist Alliance to contest elections - said: "We have united against the MQM and not the Mohajirs. The Mohajirs are brothers of the Sindhis. We are against those who conspire to divide Sindh. We respect the Urdu speaking people who have done so much good for Sindh and Pakistan. It is the MQM whose militant policy has brought havoc to Sindh."
Palijo praised Uzair Jan Baloch and said he was the protector of the people of Lyari. Baloch is believed to be a gangster, and the Sindh government has recently announced head money for him.
Uzair Jan Baloch, leader of the banned People's Amn Committee, said the government had announced a reward him to frighten him, but he would not surrender. "Our fight is with the enemies of Pakistan," he said.
Palijo also opposed the proposed Zulfikarabad city project in Thatta district, calling it a ploy to occupy the coastal belt. He condemned the PPP government for not arresting the people involved in a fatal attack on the Love Sindh Rally. He vowed to avenge the bloodshed that ensued. "These murders will not go waste. The perpetrators will be held accountable."
"We are fighting for the Baloch and we will protect them from the MQM, which is working on an agenda to kill us," Uzair Baloch said in a later conversation. But he refused to talk about the PPP.
A history of Sindhi ethnic politics:
In the provincial elections in Sindh in 1946, Muslim League won 27 seats while the Indian National Congress won 21. The Progressive League and the Nationalist Muslims won four seats each. According to a February 1946 issue of Daily Al-Waheed, 14 of the people who won in Karachi were Baloch, eight were Sayeds, eight Sindhis and five belonged to other ethnicities.
"You need to understand the conflict in Sindh," says Yasin Thebo, a professor of political science at Karachi University. "In December 1947, 160 of the 300 members of the Muslim League were from minority provinces. In the working committee, 13 out of 23 members were Mohajirs. And that is the issue. The Mohajir elite along with the Punjabi leadership of Muslim League were seen to have hijacked Pakistan. The other ethnicities felt deprived. That is how modern Sindhi ethnic politics began."
On August 27, 1948, the governor general of Pakistan had to impose an emergency in Sindh after the provincial government refused to admit over 200,000 refugees (mainly Urdu speaking) who had been stuck at camps in Punjab. The issue of separation of Karachi from Sindh created resentment against Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sindh. Tensions had soon risen to a point that renowned journalist Maulana Din Muhammad Wafai called Quaid-e-Azam a dictator. Sindh chief minister MA Khuhro also opposed the Muslim League and Jinnah on the Karachi issue. On April 26, 1948, Governor Ghulam Husain dismissed the elected Khuhro government on the directives of Quaid-e-Azam. "The latent tensions re-emerged during the 1973 language riots, but died with GM Syed's death," Professor Thebo said.
The PPP is confident:
Will the resurgence of Sindhi ethnic political groups threaten the Pakistan People's Party in the next general elections? "Only in their dreams," says Agha Siraj Durrani, a minister from the ruling PPP. "They hardly have 10 or 15 votes each. The PPP is the guardian of Sindh and Pakistan."
Although Sindhi ethnic leaders are trying to consolidate their power after what is being seen as a leadership vacuum after the death of Benazir Bhutto, they have a long way to go.
"Even the MQM is doing better than Sindhi ethnic parties in interior Sindh," said Ghulam Bux, a political activist from Hyderabad.
Despite a ban on public demonstrations for five days under section 144, a closure of all roads leading to the conflict-hit Lyari, and arrest warrants issued in his name under Maintenance of Public Order, Awami Tehrik leader Ayaz Latif Palijo managed to address a controversial gathering that may raise ethnic tensions in Karachi.
Addressing the event titled Shaheedan-e-Mohabbat-e-Sindh Jalsa, he announced that he would collaborate with the Baloch against the MQM. Among those who attended the rally were Ali Hassan Chandio of Sindh National Movement, Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto, and Awami National Party's Sindh chief Sultan Bahadur - all seemingly a part of what can best be described as a new ethno-political force.
In the remarkably large gathering, Ayaz Palejo - who has now allied three smaller Sindhi ethnic parties to form the Sindh Progressive Nationalist Alliance to contest elections - said: "We have united against the MQM and not the Mohajirs. The Mohajirs are brothers of the Sindhis. We are against those who conspire to divide Sindh. We respect the Urdu speaking people who have done so much good for Sindh and Pakistan. It is the MQM whose militant policy has brought havoc to Sindh."
Palijo praised Uzair Jan Baloch and said he was the protector of the people of Lyari. Baloch is believed to be a gangster, and the Sindh government has recently announced head money for him.
Uzair Jan Baloch, leader of the banned People's Amn Committee, said the government had announced a reward him to frighten him, but he would not surrender. "Our fight is with the enemies of Pakistan," he said.
Palijo also opposed the proposed Zulfikarabad city project in Thatta district, calling it a ploy to occupy the coastal belt. He condemned the PPP government for not arresting the people involved in a fatal attack on the Love Sindh Rally. He vowed to avenge the bloodshed that ensued. "These murders will not go waste. The perpetrators will be held accountable."
"We are fighting for the Baloch and we will protect them from the MQM, which is working on an agenda to kill us," Uzair Baloch said in a later conversation. But he refused to talk about the PPP.
A history of Sindhi ethnic politics:
In the provincial elections in Sindh in 1946, Muslim League won 27 seats while the Indian National Congress won 21. The Progressive League and the Nationalist Muslims won four seats each. According to a February 1946 issue of Daily Al-Waheed, 14 of the people who won in Karachi were Baloch, eight were Sayeds, eight Sindhis and five belonged to other ethnicities.
"You need to understand the conflict in Sindh," says Yasin Thebo, a professor of political science at Karachi University. "In December 1947, 160 of the 300 members of the Muslim League were from minority provinces. In the working committee, 13 out of 23 members were Mohajirs. And that is the issue. The Mohajir elite along with the Punjabi leadership of Muslim League were seen to have hijacked Pakistan. The other ethnicities felt deprived. That is how modern Sindhi ethnic politics began."
On August 27, 1948, the governor general of Pakistan had to impose an emergency in Sindh after the provincial government refused to admit over 200,000 refugees (mainly Urdu speaking) who had been stuck at camps in Punjab. The issue of separation of Karachi from Sindh created resentment against Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sindh. Tensions had soon risen to a point that renowned journalist Maulana Din Muhammad Wafai called Quaid-e-Azam a dictator. Sindh chief minister MA Khuhro also opposed the Muslim League and Jinnah on the Karachi issue. On April 26, 1948, Governor Ghulam Husain dismissed the elected Khuhro government on the directives of Quaid-e-Azam. "The latent tensions re-emerged during the 1973 language riots, but died with GM Syed's death," Professor Thebo said.
The PPP is confident:
Will the resurgence of Sindhi ethnic political groups threaten the Pakistan People's Party in the next general elections? "Only in their dreams," says Agha Siraj Durrani, a minister from the ruling PPP. "They hardly have 10 or 15 votes each. The PPP is the guardian of Sindh and Pakistan."
Although Sindhi ethnic leaders are trying to consolidate their power after what is being seen as a leadership vacuum after the death of Benazir Bhutto, they have a long way to go.
"Even the MQM is doing better than Sindhi ethnic parties in interior Sindh," said Ghulam Bux, a political activist from Hyderabad.
Now read it carefully.
