ISLAMABAD: The ‘Karachi province’ controversy reached the Senate on Monday, with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers making it clear that the city is an inseparable and integral part of Sindh, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) criticising the position taken by the PPP, and clarifying that they had never talked of the province’s division.
Speaking in the House, Senator Sherry Rehman, the PPP’s parliamentary party leader and vice president, denounced the recent statements by certain federal ministers about the division of Sindh and Karachi.
The matter echoed on the recent passage of a resolution in the Sindh Assembly to reaffirm the province’s historic and indivisible character, a move that angered the MQM-P, who rejected the resolution as being against the constitution.
Sherry emphatically declared that such reckless talk is not only unconstitutional but also a direct provocation to the unity of the federation. “Let me be clear: the PPP is the custodian of Sindh’s unity, and no one will be allowed to undermine it.”
She reminded the House that altering a province’s boundaries is a constitutional matter that requires a two-thirds majority, and asserted that those floating these ideas should first read the constitution. Constitutional divisions require democratic majorities, not press conferences, she stressed.
Sindh, she explained, has always opened its arms to everyone. Since 1947, its resources have been shared generously with the entire country, she said. “To now hear suggestions about dividing Karachi or Sindh is deeply alarming. This is not just an attack on a province; it is an attack on Pakistan itself.”
About the coalition partners, she said: “Our friends in the MQM have always been part of federal governments. They have governed with every administration. May Allah grant them even more respect, but let no one confuse local political debates with a licence to redraw provincial maps.”
She invoked the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and said: “Bhutto always said that no one would be allowed to divide Pakistanis on the basis of language or identity. This party has shed blood, borne lashes and endured imprisonment to uphold that principle.”
She warned that Sindh has historically faced backdoor conspiracies. “Let me say it plainly: the majority in Sindh belongs to the PPP. If that bothers someone, what can we do? If they want a majority, [let them] earn it the democratic way: face the people, earn their votes and withstand the political struggle like PPP workers have always done.”
She recalled that from Benazir Bhutto to President Asif Ali Zardari, the party’s leadership has spent years behind bars for democracy. The PPP has always put Pakistan before politics, she stressed.
“Anyone dreaming of dividing Sindh should abandon this dangerous fantasy. We know how to resist, we know how to oppose and we will not tolerate any assault on Pakistan’s federal unity. This behaviour is unacceptable and will never be allowed to succeed.”
Taking the floor, PPP Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi claimed that his party has always served the people without going into politics, whether or not the people of any area voted for them. He pointed out that both the MQM-P and the Jamaat-e-Islami had three Karachi mayors each.
“What have these six mayors given to Karachi? Nothing! The MQM has been a part of every government in the Centre, yet it could not get any one from Sindh or even Karachi inducted from the federal governments.”
On the contrary, he continued, the PPP has had Karachi’s mayorship for the past three years, and their performance has been far better than the MQM’s three mayors, be they flyovers, a highway or roads.
He challenged what the MQM has to its credit in terms of Karachi, barring dead bodies, blood, and siege and arson. He claimed that the MQM has always had a dream: sometimes they push it as separating Karachi, sometimes as the Jinnah Pur project and sometimes as something else.
He pointed out that a conference on education was recently held at the Sindh Governor House, where the federal education minister, who is from Karachi, was also in attendance. But, he regretted, nothing was discussed in relation to education and to address the burning issues of the Urdu University’s two Karachi-based campuses. “The people of Sindh had embraced the Mohajirs, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed had called them new Urdu-speaking Sindhis.”
MQM-P Senator Khalida Ateeb emphasised that they talk about administrative units, while the PPP are talking about dividing Sindh, as they have divided the province into rural and urban. “Who brought the quota system? The Sindh government did. We talk about rights. You should give us rights while you are in the Sindh government,” she underlined, defending the party’s policy and stance.
“We have never talked about dividing the province, while there is a buzz all over Pakistan that administrative units should be created in all provinces. I oppose and reject this resolution, as this resolution is against the constitution.”
Earlier, on a point of public importance, PPP Senator Zameer Ghumro spoke on similar lines and strongly rejected any “conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh” or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi. He insisted that his party stands for Sindh’s unity.
