Sindh CM’s Office Can Be Sacrificed, But Province Will Not Be Divided: Nasir Hussain Shah

LAHORE: Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has categorically stated that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would be willing to sacrifice the Sindh chief ministership but would never allow the province to be divided.

Speaking on Geo News, Shah said the division of Sindh was an extremely sensitive issue. He noted that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had itself previously acknowledged that dividing Sindh could create further divisions and linguistic tensions.

He said there could certainly be a debate on improving governance in Sindh, but the province’s division was unacceptable.

Federal Minister Mustafa Kamal, speaking during the programme, said he had made a statement several years ago that he would not allow Sindh to be divided and still stood by that position. However, he claimed that the PPP had created circumstances in which debate over new provinces had emerged.

Meanwhile, PPP leader and Senator Sassui Palijo strongly reacted to statements by MQM leaders, saying that forces seeking to divide Sindh should abandon such ambitions.

She said discussions about dividing Sindh had become intolerable and accused MQM leaders Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Mustafa Kamal and Farooq Sattar of being political rivals while appearing united on what she described as an anti-Sindh agenda.

Palijo said Sindh had provided a home to Urdu-speaking migrants at the time of Pakistan’s creation and that Sindhi people considered Urdu-speaking Sindhis part of their society.

She alleged that certain elements within the MQM were pursuing the idea of dividing Sindh, but said such efforts would never succeed.

Palijo maintained that the people of Sindh knew how to protect their homeland and territory and would reject any attempt to divide the province.