Partition of India weakened Muslims: MQM

MQM chief Altaf Hussain has said the Partition of India in 1947 weakened Muslims, as it divided their power.

In an interview with Najam Sethi on Duniya News, Altaf said there would have been no Partition had the Congress accepted Mohammad Ali Jinnah's 14 points.

Altaf said few people knew that even Allama Iqbal had not demanded a separate Pakistan in his famous Allahabad address in 1930. "He had, in fact, demanded the creation of Muslim states in the Muslim-majority areas," he said, adding that Iqbal's son justice (retired) Javed Iqbal could confirm this.

Altaf said that both Pakistan and India should learn a lesson from Europe and normalise their relations.

He said it was unfortunate that the ruling elite of India had always projected Pakistan as a threat to India while the Pakistani ruling elite had always 'taught' Pakistani masses that India was a threat to Pakistan.

He said several wars had been fought in Europe, including the First and Second World Wars, yet European countries had learnt a lesson and forged unity, manifested in the European Union.

Altaf requested the Indian leadership and the Pakistani establishment to follow Europe's example and work to improving relations between the countries.