A gathering was hosted by Ali Afzal Bugti  of BSO-NA and central committee member of Jamhoori Watan Party in Chicago, Illinois in honor of Mr Rasool Bux Palijo . Other special guests included  Mr Iqbal Tareen, sindhi human rights activist from Texas, and Munawar Laghari and Sohail Ansari of  the World Sindhi Institute.   A  detailed and participatory discussion of the political situation of Pakistan and the contextual geopolitical situation took place with consensus on all points.

 

Mr  Palijo spoke extensively of the 1940 resolution and the Pakistan envisaged by Mohammed Ali Jinnah . Quoting the founder of  Pakistan, Palijo said  that  in the federation that Jinnah intended , the center was supposed to have control over foreign affairs , defence and defence related communication , that is all . All other matters were supposed to be in the domain of the federating units or provinces as they were later called. The right of opting out of the federation after the framing of the constitution , was guaranteed to each federating unit . Mr Palijo condemned the current military operation in Balochistan and spoke strongly against the military government’s insistence on proceeding with construction of further dams on the Indus.

 

Others present included Arshad Umrani, Akhtar Umrani (PPP representatives), Ehtasham from Asia News Chicago Broadcast , Salman Aftab, Omer Khan, Ishaq Tunio of Friends of The River Indus .