KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders, constitutional experts and senior journalists on Thursday warned against any attempt to dilute provincial autonomy, firmly rejecting proposals to place Karachi under federal administration and cautioning that any rollback of the 18th Constitutional Amendment would undermine the country’s federal structure.
The warning came at a seminar organized by PPP Sindh under the title “Are Calls for Federal Control of Karachi, NFC Cuts and Opposition to the 18th Amendment a Conspiracy to Push Sindh Back Towards One Unit?”
Addressing the gathering, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said the party would oppose any constitutional amendment that curtailed provincial rights or weakened the autonomy granted under the 18th Amendment, which was unanimously passed by parliament in 2010.
“The 18th Amendment is not merely a political achievement; it is a constitutional guarantee of provincial rights and a cornerstone of Pakistan’s federal system,” Khuhro said, adding that attempts to reduce provincial powers or financial resources would be resisted through democratic and constitutional means.
He dismissed suggestions that Karachi should be administered directly by the federal government, arguing that such proposals were contrary to the Constitution and the principles of provincial self-governance.
Former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, one of the principal architects of the 18th Amendment, said Karachi was and would remain the capital of Sindh, warning that any effort to alter its constitutional status would require parliamentary approval through a two-thirds majority.
“Any move to place Karachi under federal control would effectively amount to reversing the gains of the 18th Amendment and undermining provincial autonomy,” Rabbani said.
He also criticized delays in convening meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and in announcing a new National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, arguing that constitutional mechanisms designed to protect provincial rights were not being implemented effectively.
Rabbani urged the federal government to immediately convene the NFC and formulate a new award in accordance with constitutional requirements.
He maintained that provinces should not be asked to shoulder additional fiscal burdens without corresponding authority over revenue generation and taxation.
Several speakers, including Senator Barrister Zameer Ghumro, senior journalists Mazhar Abbas and Wusatullah Khan, Karachi Press Club President Fazil Jamili, lawyer Shahab Sarki and writer Noor-ul-Huda Shah, expressed concern over what they described as growing challenges to provincial autonomy and democratic governance.
The speakers emphasized that a strong federation depended on strong provinces and warned against policies that could centralize power at the expense of constitutional rights.
They also called for greater adherence to democratic principles, stronger local government institutions and equitable distribution of national resources.
The seminar concluded with the unanimous adoption of a series of resolutions rejecting any reduction in provincial shares under the NFC Award, opposing proposals for federal control of Karachi, and reaffirming support for the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy.
Participants further urged the federal government to convene the NFC without delay, fully implement constitutional provisions relating to provincial rights and resource distribution, and refrain from supporting any constitutional amendment that could weaken the autonomy of the provinces.
The resolutions declared Karachi an inseparable part of Sindh and described any attempt to alter its constitutional status or diminish provincial powers as contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and Pakistan’s federal democratic framework.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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