MQM-P Rejects Sindh Assembly Resolution on Karachi, Calls It ‘Unconstitutional’

BY Muhammad Awais :

A political confrontation is escalating in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) declared a provincial assembly resolution against splitting the region to be “unconstitutional,” setting the stage for a fresh battle over the status of the megacity of Karachi.

The war of words erupted after the Sindh Assembly, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), passed a resolution on Saturday declaring Karachi an “integral part” of the province and rejecting any move to carve it out as a separate administrative entity.

On Sunday, MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui hit back at a press conference in Karachi, flanked by senior party leaders. He argued that the resolution directly contradicts the 1973 Constitution, specifically citing Article 239, which he said allows for the creation of new provinces.

“Yesterday, a resolution against the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by the Sindh Assembly,” Mr Siddiqui said. He further invoked Article 48(6) of the Constitution, which he noted even permits a referendum on such matters.

Mr Siddiqui accused the ruling PPP of passing the resolution under a “shadow of some fear,” and alleged that the party had taken control of Sindh with an “artificial majority” following disputed 2024 general elections.

“A province acts as if it is above the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said, in a thinly veiled reference to the Sindh government. He also pointed to ongoing tensions with the PPP-run city administration, claiming the party was unwilling to devolve powers even to its own mayor in Karachi.

“We have entered a crucial juncture, and we have to decide,” Mr Siddiqui warned, while reiterating that dialogue remains the only solution to the impasse. He described Sindh as the country’s “most multilingual province” and asserted that urban areas have faced injustice for the past two decades.

The MQM-P, which has a significant support base in Karachi’s urban centres, has long demanded that the federal government declare the city a ‘federal territory’ or create a new province, citing what it describes as the PPP’s governance failures and neglect of the metropolis.

Resolution Defends ‘Non-Negotiable’ Unity

The resolution, moved by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, was a forceful defence of the province’s territorial integrity. It was supported by opposition parties, including the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami, but rejected by the MQM-P.

In his address to the assembly, Mr Shah cast the debate in historical terms, declaring that Sindh was “not merely an administrative unit but one of the world’s oldest living civilisations,” with roots stretching from Mohenjo-Daro to its role in passing the Pakistan Resolution in 1943.

“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” he asserted.

The Chief Minister specifically condemned calls for detaching Karachi, arguing the city, historically known as Kolachi, “emerged from Sindh’s soil and remains geographically, historically and emotionally inseparable from it.”

Constitutional Arguments Clash

Central to the dispute is a clash of constitutional interpretations regarding how provincial boundaries can be altered.

In his speech, Mr Shah directly referenced Article 239 of the Constitution, which he said requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of the concerned provincial assembly for any alteration of provincial boundaries. “If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly by a two-thirds majority that will decide,” he told lawmakers, noting that a similar resolution had been passed by the assembly in 1994.

The MQM-P, however, counters that the same Article provides a constitutional pathway for the creation of new provinces. Speaking on a Geo News programme, senior MQM-P leader and former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal argued that their demand falls squarely within the Constitution’s ambit. He also suggested that the federation has the authority to assume control of a city.

Mr Kamal further elaborated on his party’s stance, stating that their support for the devolutionary 18th Constitutional Amendment was aimed at transferring powers from provinces to municipal representatives. “PPP is not ready to devolve powers to the districts,” he added.

The resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly condemns “any conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi” and reaffirms that the city shall “forever remain” part of the province. It calls on all political stakeholders to refrain from what it termed “divisive rhetoric.”

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