New Provinces MQM-P calls for national dialogue on administrative reforms

New provinces should be discussed through a national dialogue, MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said on Sunday, arguing that Pakistan’s current administrative structure no longer reflects its population or governance requirements.

Speaking at a press conference alongside senior party leaders Dr Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal, Siddiqui urged political parties to put aside partisan differences and develop consensus on administrative reforms.

“The effects of not creating new provinces should also be discussed,” Siddiqui said, stressing that administrative boundaries should correspond with population size and governance needs.

Kharan operation Seven terrorists killed in Balochistan IBO

His remarks followed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent call for new administrative units. Naqvi had argued that Pakistan’s governance system needed restructuring to address growing challenges. He later clarified that his description of the governance structure as “collapsed” referred to the gradual decline in institutional capacity over eight decades rather than the performance of the current government.

Siddiqui said support for creating new provinces was increasing across political parties. He added that MQM-P was ready to engage with all stakeholders to develop a framework for establishing additional provinces where administrative needs demanded them.

He said Pakistan’s provinces were initially shaped largely around linguistic considerations but had since become large administrative units. Successive governments expanded the number of districts without undertaking broader provincial restructuring, he added.

Siddiqui said Sindh was among the regions where the demand for additional administrative units remained particularly strong.

He rejected claims that advocating for new provinces amounted to disloyalty or a controversial political demand. Referring to the Constitution, he questioned why the law provides a mechanism for creating provinces if the demand itself is considered unacceptable.

MQM-P has already introduced a constitutional bill seeking progress on the issue, Siddiqui said. The bill remains before a parliamentary standing committee, while the party had previously approached the courts when it believed the process had stalled.

He indicated that MQM-P could approach the Supreme Court again if the relevant constitutional and legal requirements remained unfulfilled.