IDPs and Sindh
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Editorial, Daily Times
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) says it supports the “Sindh-based” parties against the accommodation of “outsiders” in the province. The reference is to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) fanning out from the Malakand region to all parts of the country. It is expected that the lion’s share of this migration will be taken by Karachi where there are already 4 million Pashtuns, making it the largest Pashtun city in the world. The MQM says the Taliban had entered the settled areas along with the IDPs and had set up their operational points in Karachi and others cities of Sindh “for suicide attacks and other terrorist activities”.
The MQM has found resonance with Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), which in principle protests injections of alien population in the province till the Sindhi is threatened with becoming a minority in his own province. The Pakistan People’s Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB) and JSQM have both urged the government to resettle the IDPs near the affected areas rather than in far-flung localities. The Sindh National Party (SNP) has also taken out a protest march asking Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to convene an emergency session of the Sindh Assembly and stop the influx of refugees into Sindh. Ominously, the police go on reporting new arrival of criminals from the tribal areas at the same time, catching some of them as if in proof.
All migrations are accompanied by violence, the only exception in history being that of the Holy Prophet PBUH which actually led to the sanctification of the act of hijra because of its peaceful aftermath. Our Constitution gives the right to all Pakistani citizens to settle wherever they want, but the migration-violence sequence cannot be ignored. The MQM is opposed by the Sindhi nationalist parties, but such is the politics of migration, that it now joins them in opposing it. The Pashtun diaspora swells, made bitter by its terrorist fringe. But the innocent Swatis have to be sheltered till they can return to their paradise. For that, Sindh must prepare itself with the help of the world.
Source
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) says it supports the “Sindh-based” parties against the accommodation of “outsiders” in the province. The reference is to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) fanning out from the Malakand region to all parts of the country. It is expected that the lion’s share of this migration will be taken by Karachi where there are already 4 million Pashtuns, making it the largest Pashtun city in the world. The MQM says the Taliban had entered the settled areas along with the IDPs and had set up their operational points in Karachi and others cities of Sindh “for suicide attacks and other terrorist activities”.
The MQM has found resonance with Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), which in principle protests injections of alien population in the province till the Sindhi is threatened with becoming a minority in his own province. The Pakistan People’s Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB) and JSQM have both urged the government to resettle the IDPs near the affected areas rather than in far-flung localities. The Sindh National Party (SNP) has also taken out a protest march asking Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to convene an emergency session of the Sindh Assembly and stop the influx of refugees into Sindh. Ominously, the police go on reporting new arrival of criminals from the tribal areas at the same time, catching some of them as if in proof.
All migrations are accompanied by violence, the only exception in history being that of the Holy Prophet PBUH which actually led to the sanctification of the act of hijra because of its peaceful aftermath. Our Constitution gives the right to all Pakistani citizens to settle wherever they want, but the migration-violence sequence cannot be ignored. The MQM is opposed by the Sindhi nationalist parties, but such is the politics of migration, that it now joins them in opposing it. The Pashtun diaspora swells, made bitter by its terrorist fringe. But the innocent Swatis have to be sheltered till they can return to their paradise. For that, Sindh must prepare itself with the help of the world.
Source
Labels: IDPs, Karachi, Militants, MQM, Refugees, Sindh, Swat Operation, Taliban, Terrorism
posted @ 10:24 AM,
0 Comments:
Post a Comment