New Provinces MQM-P renews demand for separate unit in urban Sindh

The MQM-P has renewed its demand for New Provinces, arguing that urban Sindh has the strongest case for a separate administrative unit in Pakistan.

Speaking at a seminar titled “National Dialogue”, organised by the MQM-P Graduate Forum Pakistan at a local hotel on Saturday, party chairman and Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the demand dated back to the APMSO era, before the MQM was formed.

Siddiqui said Pakistan was the country’s homeland, while provinces were administrative units. He argued that provinces should be reorganised according to population to improve governance and support development.

He said existing provinces had largely emerged along linguistic lines, while the MQM-P was seeking new provinces on administrative grounds. He described urban Sindh’s case as the “strongest and most justified” among demands for new provinces.

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Siddiqui argued that urban Sindh carried a major share of the country’s economic burden but continued to face deprivation. He also claimed that a transparent census and accurate voter lists could force the PPP to confront the demand for a new province.

Senior MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar said Pakistan’s four provinces were effectively controlled by a small number of families. He argued that the devolution of powers under the 18th Amendment had not delivered meaningful authority at the grassroots level.

Sattar said the MQM-P had submitted a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly to strengthen local governments under Article 140-A.

He also called for a public referendum on the creation of new provinces under Article 48(6). Sattar urged people from different sections of society to support what he described as a historic rally on Sharae Faisal for survival and development.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rehan Hanif, trader leader Atiq Mir and former bureaucrat Barrister Shahab Imam also supported the creation of new administrative units and a stronger local government system.