MQM-P Calls for New Provinces, Announces National Dialogue on Administrative Units

KARACHI:Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has declared the creation of new provinces a necessity for the country and announced plans to launch a national dialogue on the issue.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi alongside other party leaders, MQM-P Chairman Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said Pakistan’s existing provinces had not originally been created on purely administrative grounds and argued that the country needed new administrative units in line with population growth.
He said the number of districts had increased significantly as the population grew, but new provinces had not been created at the same pace. He called for a national discussion on the consequences of not creating additional provinces.
Siddiqui said MQM-P’s proposal had received support from political groups in different parts of the country and urged people nationwide to join a dialogue on the issue.
He stressed that the party was not demanding new provinces only for itself, but believed that provinces should be created wherever there was an administrative need. He said the party had supported the 18th Constitutional Amendment with the expectation that the benefits of democracy would reach all parts of the country.
“If creating provinces was treason, why is it mentioned in the Constitution?” Siddiqui asked, arguing that ensuring people’s legitimate rights could not be considered treason.
He said MQM-P was prepared to hold talks with various political parties and would support demands for new provinces wherever such voices emerged, particularly arguing that Sindh had the greatest need for additional administrative units based on population.
Siddiqui said the party had already introduced a constitutional bill concerning provinces, which was currently before a standing committee. He urged political parties to set aside their differences and hold a national dialogue on the issue.
Federal Minister Mustafa Kamal said the country needed a system in which people had greater control over their rights and could change their rulers through effective administrative structures.
He argued that conditions in several parts of Sindh were worse than in Karachi and Hyderabad and said the creation of administrative units would also give people in rural areas greater political representation.
Kamal claimed that Sindh had received **Rs22 trillion over 18 years**, yet its condition had deteriorated significantly. He stressed that the proposal was about administrative arrangements rather than dividing Sindh or acting against Sindhi interests.
He said Karachi and Hyderabad together accounted for around **43% of Sindh’s population**, arguing that creating additional administrative units could also empower farmers and residents of other parts of the province.
The federal minister further said the proposal for administrative units was not initiated by MQM-P alone and referred to recent statements by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR).
Kamal argued that if administrative units were created, even a farmer from the province would have greater political power, including the ability to influence the selection of the chief minister.