Sindh nationalist parties gear up for campaign

By Irfan Ali

KARACHI: The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM), an alliance of nationalist parties and groups, has begun efforts to reactivate its supporters in Sindh, where the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz has rallied nationalist politicians.

PONM’s Sindh chapter has been successful in receiving the support of Jalal Mehmood Shah, who is the grandsons of the late G M Syed, the source of inspiration for current Sindhi nationalist politics.

The provincial leadership will meet this month at Hyder Manzil, which was Mr Syed’s home in Karachi, to finalise arrangements for a public meeting in Karachi on April 7, a well-informed source told Daily Times on Tuesday.

The PONM’s approaching Jalal Mehmood Shah at Hyder Manzil could hint at the alliance’s differences with the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) of Bashir Qureshi, because the gulf between the two politicians is continuously widening. Jalal Mehmood Shah, the former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, who heads the Thinkers Forum, attended the meeting of the PONM held at a village near Sakrand, Nawabshah district. The forum’s Munir Shah hosted the meeting, which was also attended by Jalal Shah’s brother Zain Shah who heads a faction of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz.

“The meeting at Hyder Manzil is likely to be held on March 22,” a leader of the Sindh Taraqqi Passand Party, told this reporter when asked for confirmation if the meeting was going to be held.

Meanwhile, Mumtaz Bhutto’s Sindh National Front has invited almost all the nationalist parties on Wednesday for the discussion of the burning issues of the province.

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