Daily Times

We have been reading demands for a ‘Mohajir province’ on the walls of Karachi for a while but it was unknown who actually is involved in such wall chalking. Interestingly, the MQM has always denied its involvement but, for as long as one can recall, only one person is on record as demanding the same in front of the public and media — he is none other than MQM chief Altaf Hussain.

This is not the first time that MQM chief Altaf Hussain has threatened, during a public speech, to divide Sindh into two. He also warned that the demand for a separate province may turn into the demand for a separate country. Again, a day after his speech, he gave another proposal: to divide Sindh into Sindh I and Sindh II. Sindh I would be governed by the PPP and Sindh II by the rest of the communities in general and Urdu speaking Mohajirs in particular.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the first to respond to the MQM chief’s demand with Hoshu Sheedi’s famous slogan: ‘Marsoon Marsoon, Sindh na Daisun’ (We will die but will not give up Sindh). He also rejected the proposal of Sindh I and Sindh II. The ANP, PTI, JI and other political parties also condemned this demand. The Sindh Awami Tehreek announced a province-wide strike against the demands of the MQM chief but when an MQM delegation visited the Awami Tehreek’s president, Ayaz Latif Palijo, and explained the narrative, he announced the withdrawal of his strike call.

The Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) has announced taking out a protest rally on February 9, 2014 in Karachi against these statements. The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Sindh National Movement, Sindh National Party, Sindh United Party, Jeay Sindh Mahaz and others have already staged sit-ins and protests against this but the nationalist parties seemed alienated from each other on this issue.

Unfortunately, a deep, silent response from the ministry of foreign affairs and security agencies was more disappointing. One wonders, if Baloch and Sindhi separatist movements and individuals are suppressed, killed or charged with high treason cases, why was this man’s statement completely ignored by our government and law enforcement agencies? This silence endorses all those conspiracy theories that believe that Altaf Hussain’s statement was merely the establishment’s show to divert public attention from Musharraf’s trial. Or maybe it is now easy for anyone to challenge the existence of this country, speak of partition in Pakistan and the state will respond with silence as if this is a non-issue.

The formal diplomatic move, which was supposed to be initiated by the ministry of foreign affairs, was prompted by the ‘Sindh Writers and Thinkers Forum’, which presented a memorandum at the British High Commission in Karachi that stated: “He (Altaf Hussain) has threatened division of Sindh and Pakistan in open words. This is not the first time that this British citizen has issued such statements. Mr Hussain has continuously been issuing similar statements/speeches and has been expressing his disrespect for Sindh and Pakistan.”

Now, if this statement was a tactic to divert public and media attention from Musharraf’s escape diversion from the court to the hospital, or to reunite the MQM’s internal groups and divisions, in the way the MQM chief has used the ‘Karachi card’, it proves that the MQM still functions on its founding vision, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement. It is once again proved that the MQM is the party representing one city and one community. His statement would have definitely disappointed a segment of Urdu speaking people who proudly call themselves ‘Sindhis’ and who live a happy and peaceful life with other Sindhi communities.

MQM representatives maintained on television channels that urban cities have been ignored by the PPP government and that is why the MQM had no option but to make this demand. However, the MQM is the only party that has remained in the corridors of power in every government; whether it is a dictatorship or a democratic government, the MQM enjoys power. General Musharraf, during his rule, empowered the MQM and gave it full authority over the urban areas. This was the time when the MQM completely ignored the small cities and rural areas of Sindh, and focused only on Karachi and Hyderabad. It was also the same period when the admissions of Sindhi students from rural Sindh were banned in the institutes of Karachi.

The fact is in the South Asian model of politics, every political party and political leader develops and strengthens his or her own stronghold. If the PPP was ignoring the urban areas, this was purely an administrative and political issue, and the MQM had forums like the provincial and National Assembly to register these reservations. Instead of playing the Karachi card or Mohajir card, political parties should focus on the administration and development issues of the province. Sindh is not a game of cards but a 5,000-year-old civilisation — let us learn to respect, protect and own it.

The writer is a research analyst based in Islamabad. He tweets @shafiqsolangi