Karachiites were divided on ethnic, sectarian lines in Zia’s regime: Ghani

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani has said the residents of Karachi were divided on sectarian, religious, and ethnic lines during the dictatorial rule of Ziaul Haq.

He stated this on Saturday while speaking at an event held to mark the 35th anniversary of the martyrdom of Peoples Students Federation leader Najeeb Ahmed. The PSF, Karachi Division, organised the event.

Ghani told the audience that the activists and leaders of the PPP had never laid down their lives for their own interests; rather, they had embraced martyrdom for the restoration and continuity of democracy in the country.

He said several activists and leaders of the PPP had laid down their lives for the restoration and continuity of democratic rule in the country. He said the PPP had a long-lasting relationship with the martyrs.

Ghani recalled that the law and order situation in Karachi had been very disturbed in the decade of 1990s. He said that those who had no idea about the troubled situation of the 90s couldn't blame the PPP for the adverse law and order situation.

He recalled that a reign of terror had prevailed in Karachi, drill machines had been used to torture students in the city, and people had been killed based on their ethnic affiliation.

Ghani lamented that terror tactics had been used during the dictatorial regime of Ziaul Haq to suppress ideological and political differences. He asked the students to adopt the politics and ideology of Shaheed Najeeb Ahmed. He said better educational standards had been prevailing in the country before the government banned the student unions.

He recalled that Ziaul Haq had abolished the student unions, which served as a nursery of budding politicians in the country. He said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had announced lifting the ban on the student unions. He said the Sindh Assembly had passed a resolution for the revival of the student unions.

He said student unions had yet to be revived because of certain court decisions. He said certain quarters believed that violent clashes would take place on campuses following the restoration of the student unions.

The local government minister recalled that the water dispute had been lingering between Punjab and Sindh for the past 150 years. He said the forum of the Council of Common Interests should be used to resolve the inter-provincial water disputes. He said crop cultivation in Sindh could be affected in the current year due to lingering water shortages.

He said the President Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh government and PPP all were on the same page while opposing the plans of building new irrigation canals at the expense of water rights of the people of Sindh.

He said the water accords were based on the Indus River system. Ghani said the Indus River and the Indus River System were two separate things. He said the water in the Indus River system would be reduced irrespective of the location of the proposed new irrigation canals. He said that Punjab was facing a 34 per cent water shortage while water shortage in Sindh is 60 per cent.