Karachi: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM P) Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced a nationwide movement to create new provinces, with a major procession planned for 29 November on Karachi's Sharea Faisal.
Addressing a workers' gathering at Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Park in Colony on 1 November, Siddiqui said the party would campaign for administrative restructuring across Pakistan, arguing that the existing provincial system failed to distribute political authority and resources equitably.
Siddiqui, who also serves as federal education minister, said new provinces should be established wherever population size and administrative requirements warranted their creation.
He maintained that urban Sindh made a particularly strong case for a separate province and urged party workers to prepare for the November procession.
The MQM P chairman criticised the concentration of political power among influential families, arguing that democratic institutions should provide ordinary citizens with meaningful representation.
He said the party wanted political power and national resources transferred to neighbourhoods and local communities rather than remaining concentrated within established political elites.
MQM calls for referendums on provincial restructuring
Senior party leader Farooq Sattar called for referenda under the Constitution to gauge public support for new administrative units across all four provinces.
Sattar argued that Pakistan's existing provincial arrangement enabled a small number of political families to maintain control over public resources and decision making.
He also criticised the implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, arguing that the transfer of authority to the provinces did not adequately improve education, healthcare, infrastructure or municipal services.
The MQM P leader accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which governs Sindh, of failing to address the province's civic problems over its 18 years in power.
MQM P leaders made these assessments and did not present independent evidence at the gathering.
Sattar maintained that administrative restructuring would not undermine Sindh's cultural identity, adding that the party would continue to respect traditions associated with the Sindhi cap and ajrak.
Disagreement with PPP over Sindh's future
The announcement follows opposition from PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to proposals for dividing Sindh into additional provinces or administrative units.
Bilawal recently said the Sindh Assembly rejected such proposals and maintained that decisions concerning the province's future belonged to its people.
The disagreement places MQM P, a partner in the federal coalition, at odds with the party governing Sindh over the province's administrative structure.
The planned 29 November procession will be the next public step in MQM P's campaign. The party did not present a detailed constitutional proposal outlining the boundaries of the provinces it seeks to create.
