MQM-P renews call for new provinces, announces street protests over Karachi rights

Federal Minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Mustafa Kamal on Saturday announced that his party had decided to launch street demonstrations against what he described as the Sindh government’s “systematic injustice” towards Karachi and other urban centres, while renewing his demand for the creation of new provinces and greater devolution of powers.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Kamal said MQM-P had exhausted all constitutional and democratic avenues to highlight the city’s issues but its demands had fallen on deaf ears.

“We have used all democratic tools at hand. We spoke on the assembly floor and presented constitutional amendments, but they did not agree to our demands. Now we will take this protest to the streets,” he declared.

Rejecting allegations of separatism, Kamal said MQM-P’s demand for new provinces was based entirely on constitutional rights.

“Our party does not have a separatist agenda like those operating in Balochistan. We seek new provinces under the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

Calling his campaign a fight against injustice rather than a political stunt, Kamal said the “new MQM” would present its case through facts, figures and constitutional arguments instead of confrontational politics.

“There will be no escape from this. We will fight and win this argument,” he said.

The minister argued that Karachi had been denied its due financial share despite being Pakistan’s economic backbone.

He claimed that Karachi contributed nearly 50% to the federal revenue and generated about 95% of Sindh’s revenue, yet had received only Rs680 billion out of Rs22,000 billion earmarked for the city over the past 18 years.

“Karachi is a victim of injustice, and this is also an injustice to Pakistan,” he said.

Kamal recalled that before 2010, the federal government directly funded Karachi under tax collection compensation and that until the Seventh National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, the city received one-sixth of the General Sales Tax (GST) collected by it.

Read: MQM-P renews key demands after PM meeting

He alleged that after 2010, the Sindh government withheld federal funds meant for Karachi and called for restoring the previous funding formula, which, according to him, would enable the city to receive around Rs270 billion annually from the federal government.

“Had the earlier arrangement remained in place, Karachi would have received approximately Rs2 trillion over the past 18 years,” he claimed.

Kamal said Pakistan’s economic recovery depended on Karachi’s development rather than external financial assistance.

“The IMF cannot take the country out of its financial woes. Only Karachi has the capacity to do so,” he said, adding that improved infrastructure would lower the cost of doing business, increase profitability and enable businesses to expand.

He argued that better roads, schools, hospitals and information technology centres would allow the city to contribute even more to the national economy.

Launching a broad attack on the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government, Kamal accused it of depriving Karachi residents of basic civic amenities, including clean drinking water, sanitation, quality education and modern infrastructure.

He said the younger generation in Karachi had never witnessed proper municipal services.

“A generation was born and reached adulthood, yet the malpractice has not stopped. They have never seen clean potable water or proper waste disposal. All they have seen is series of injustices,” he said.

The minister said Sindh recorded the country’s highest rate of child stunting and the largest number of out-of-school children among other issues impacting minors.

“Nowhere else in Pakistan do children die from dog bites. It happens only in Sindh,” he said, adding that children also lost their lives after falling into manholes.

“The world is going to the moon while our children are falling into gutters.”

Also Read: MQM-P renews demand for urban province in Sindh

He further criticised the provincial administration for what he called deteriorating conditions across Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas and Khairpur, alleging that development funds were “parked” at the Chief Minister’s House.

Kamal also condemned the reported use of force against mothers protesting the disappearance of 18 children in Khairpur, saying they were beaten instead of being provided relief.

He alleged that public funds had been siphoned off and invested abroad instead of being spent on the province’s development.

The federal minister said Sindh’s money was invested in Dubai real estate.

He lamented that the funds were not used to provide relief to the people, particularly those in Karachi, who support the financial health of the country and province.

Reiterating MQM-P’s longstanding demand, Kamal said the country’s governance structure required further decentralisation and called for the creation of new provinces.

“Pakistan can no longer be run under the current system wherein power devolves only to four provinces,” he underscored.

He argued that powers should reach local communities “at their doorsteps” and said city affairs such as sanitation, water supply, roads, master planning and waste management should not be controlled from the ministerial level.

“Even if angels took charge of the province, they too would become corrupt under this system,” he remarked.

He alleged that public funds had been siphoned off and invested abroad instead of being spent on the province’s development.

Concluding his address, Kamal said MQM-P would now take its campaign directly to the people.

“We are going to the streets on public demand because we will no longer remain silent,” he said.

Sindh government responds to allegations

Sindh government spokesperson Ghanwer Ali Khan Isran responded to the remarks, saying Karachi remains at the heart of Sindh and had always been a priority in the provincial government’s development agenda.

Isran said those attempting to gain political mileage from Karachi’s development should first account for their own performance.

He challenged Kamal to resign from the federal ministry before staging protests, adding that despite being a federal minister, he had never raised Karachi’s rights with the federal government.

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The spokesperson said neither the Constitution of Pakistan nor the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award allocates a separate financial share to any city.

He said the NFC Award distributed resources to provinces, which were then allocated among districts.

“The federal government provides resources for the entire province and does not aim to satisfy any political party or Mustafa Kamal,” Isran hit back.