Some parties plotting Sindh’s division: PPP

KARACHI: In contrast to the PPP-led Sindh government’s ongoing efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 pandemic by imposing ‘smart lockdown’ in selective areas during the last few days in the city, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday organised a rally against what it said some political parties plotting the division of Sindh on the basis of hatred and ethnicity.

The PPP Karachi chapter organised the rally under the title of ‘Karachi Solidarity Rally’, which started from Ayesha Manzil, an area considered the MQM-P’s stronghold, to Empress Market Parking Plaza. At the endpoint, the rally turned into a gathering, where the PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro, Secretary General Waqar Mehdi, Karachi President Saeed Ghani and others addressed the participants.

The main objective of the PPP’s charged rally was to give a response to previous back-to-back public rallies taken out in the city by the Jamaat-e-Islamiand the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, which demanded to grant due rights of Karachiites. Speaking to the participants of the rally, Khuhro said the successful rally is a proof that Karachiites are with the PPP and rejected the communal politics based on hatred and division.

“PPP does not believe in communal based politics and will fight for the rights of Karachiites,” said Khuhro. He added that one of the political parties campaigning for the division of the province had destroyed three generations of residents. “People of Sindh will resist any such attempt the way they had foiled the conspiracy to build the Kalabagh Dam,” he said.

The PPP leader said Imran Khan, elected from Mianwali, and Usman Buzdar, elected from South Punjab, have been serving as prime minister of Pakistan and chief minister of Punjab respectively, while there is only criticism on Sindh chief minister who has been elected from rural Sindh. He said the PPP enjoyed support from the residents of Katchi Abadis in the city.

Provincial Minister Saeed Ghani said the PPP considered all residents living in Sindh as Sindhi, no matter which part of the country they belonged to and if they had settled in the province, they are Sindhis. Ghani said his party would sweep the upcoming local bodies’ elections in Karachi.

Although, the PPP leadership, especially Saeed Ghani, had appealed to the party’s workers on Saturday to follow the government’s recommended SOPs to prevent the outspread of the novel coronavirus yet most of the participants did not follow it and attended the rally without wearing masks. Javed Nagori, Senator Taj Haider, provincial minister Shehla Raza and others also addressed the participants.