New Provinces campaigners in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have renewed their demand for a separate administrative unit in urban Sindh, arguing that the case is stronger than similar demands elsewhere 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 for new provinces dated back to the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO), 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. Raza Murder: Lawyers clash over Judicial Commission investigation He said existing provinces had largely emerged along linguistic lines, while MQM-P was seeking new provinces on administrative grounds. Siddiqui described urban Sindh’s case as “the strongest and most justified” among demands for new provinces. He argued that the region carried a significant share of the country’s economic burden but continued to face deprivation. He further claimed that a transparent census and accurate voter lists in Sindh could force the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to confront the demand for a new province. Senior MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar said the country’s four provinces remained dominated by a small number of political families. He argued that the devolution of powers to provinces under the 18th Amendment had not resulted in meaningful empowerment at the grassroots level. Sattar said provincial authority had failed to reach local communities and announced that MQM-P had submitted a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly seeking 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), urging citizens from different sections of society to unite behind what he described as a historic rally on Shahrah-e-Faisal in support of development and their future. Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rehan Hanif, trader leader Atiq Mir and former bureaucrat Barrister Shahab Imam also spoke in favour of creating new administrative units and strengthening the local government system. Post navigation Raza Murder: Lawyers clash over Judicial Commission investigation
