London [UK], June 19 : Exiled MQM founder Altaf Hussain has called on the United Nations to recognise the Muhajirs' right to self-determination. Citing decades of systemic discrimination, he urged the international community to take action against what he described as "state-sponsored apartheid" in Pakistan.
"The sacrifices of our forefathers created Pakistan, yet today the very architects of this nation, the Muhajirs, are treated as outsiders in their homeland," Hussain declared. He described how Muhajirs, migrants from post-Partition India who settled in urban Sindh, face exclusion from education, employment, and basic civil rights.
Referencing the UN Charter, he demanded the same right to political freedom that is guaranteed to all peoples under international law. He recounted historical flashpoints, from the 1964 violence against Fatima Jinnah's supporters to the 1972 language riots and the imposition of rural-urban quotas, as proof of deliberate marginalisation.
"Why are military operations only ever launched in Karachi or Balochistan, not Punjab?" he asked, accusing Pakistan's military of targeting Muhajir strongholds, killing activists, enforcing media blackouts, and dismantling MQM's political base.
Rejecting the label of "ethnic separatist," Hussain emphasised MQM's inclusive stance: "We have stood by Baloch, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Hazaras every persecuted group. MQM never propagated hate; we stood for inclusion and human dignity."
He called the 2016 Nine Zero raid "state barbarism" and condemned the branding of MQM as a terrorist organisation without due process. Urging Muhajir activists to submit reports of abuse to the UN, he framed documentation as the "only peaceful and lawful path forward."
Hussain highlighted a series of pivotal events in Pakistan's history that, he claimed, demonstrate the enduring oppression of the Muhajir community, including the state-backed violence against Fatima Jinnah's supporters in 1964, the enforcement of the 1972 language bill in Sindh, and the implementation of a biased rural-urban quota system during Bhutto's rule. According to him, these measures were deliberately designed to suppress Muhajir identity and eliminate their influence in the country's political sphere.
Hussain urged the UN, human rights groups, and democratic nations to act against what he described as arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and the systemic marginalisation of Muhajirs. He ended with a firm but conciliatory appeal: "We don't seek war. We seek dignity. But we shall never surrender our identity or our right to exist with dignity."
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