PPP against Sindh’s division, while MQM advocates for ‘administrative reforms’

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday opened debate on an adjournment motion over the creation of new administrative units, exposing a sharp divide in the house, with PPP legislators rejecting any move to break up the historic province while MQM members argued that administrative reforms were essential for good governance.

The debate was initiated by senior parliamentarian and PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro through his adjournment motion against the division of Sindh. The assembly had admitted the motion for debate at its sitting on Friday.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah made it clear that the decision to divide Sindh could not be taken by a few businessmen in Lahore or at any forum outside the provincial assembly. He said only the elected members of the Sindh Assembly had the authority to decide the future of the province.

“Sindh will never be divided,” Murad Ali Shah said, adding that the Sindh Assembly had already passed several resolutions against the division of the province.

Speaking emotionally at the beginning of the debate, the chief minister said the assembly had passed resolutions against the division of Sindh in 1948, 2000, 2014, 2019 and 2026.

“If anyone has the courage, let them bring a resolution for the division of Sindh,” he said. “As long as even one of us is alive, our province will not be divided.” Murad Ali Shah said the issue should be debated in the Sindh Assembly because this was the proper forum for deciding the matter.

“No one will decide the division of Sindh on television or at a public gathering,” he said, urging all members to speak on the “very important” issue. Referring to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chief minister said Bilawal had stated that the party would do what the people wanted.

Murad Ali Shah said the house should complete its debate and, if necessary, pass another resolution against the division of Sindh. He recalled that some people had spoken in favour of dividing Sindh during the previous debate, but said they should remember that Sindh would always remain united.

The chief minister said the issue could not be decided by a court, a public meeting or a television seminar. “We have no objection to any court decision, but the decision regarding the division of the province will be made by the Sindh Assembly because this is the proper forum for debate,” he said.

He said Sindh had existed for centuries and its people had reunited it. “All voices raised for the division of Sindh will be answered by the Sindh Assembly,” he said, adding that under the Constitution, state authority was exercised through elected representatives of the people.

Murad Ali Shah said both sides of the issue should be heard in the assembly and the debate would be taken to its proper conclusion. If necessary, he added, the house would again pass a resolution against the division of Sindh.

Speaker Syed Owais Qadir Shah also told members that they could debate the issue as much as they wanted, but “this province will always remain one.” The speaker suspended the assembly’s routine business and allowed debate on the adjournment motion.

The assembly session, chaired by the speaker, began nearly two hours late on Monday. Before the proceedings, government and opposition members held separate parliamentary meetings to decide their strategies for the session.

Moving his motion, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said he had brought it because he could not stop speeches being made outside the assembly, but the people of Sindh had already given their response.

“I want to see who these people are who want to divide the motherland and who want to cut our body and soul apart,” he said. Khuhro said Sindh was regarded as the mother of Pakistan.

He said a voice had recently emerged from the federal government that new provinces would have to be created, while a federal minister had also said that provinces would have to be established. He described it as surprising that the debate over new provinces had started at a conference of businessmen in Islamabad.

Khuhro said Sindh and the Indus region were known as the Indus Civilisation and that Sindh was later taken over by the Bombay Presidency. The people of Sindh, he said, had secured freedom from the Bombay Presidency. He said the Ajrak was a 5,000-year-old symbol of Sindh.

According to Khuhro, Sindh’s separation from the Bombay Presidency had laid the foundation for the creation of Pakistan. He recalled that the Sindh Assembly had passed the resolution in favour of Pakistan. He expressed regret that even after Pakistan was created, attacks on Sindh did not stop. The status of the provinces was abolished and the One Unit system was introduced, he said.

He said he was naming his uncle, who had supported the One Unit scheme. “Now once again there is talk of dividing Sindh. The same dirty act that was carried out in the 1950s is being repeated,” he said. He questioned why people who lacked political strength were raising the issue.

Without naming the MQM, Khuhro said some people were talking about dividing Sindh to hide their own differences. He also expressed regret that the name of the Pakistan Army had been used in connection with the issue. “Some people want Sindh to become like Balochistan, but we want to protect Sindh,” he said.

Khuhro said the PPP had a two-thirds majority in the assembly and that any decision concerning Sindh would be taken by that two-thirds majority. “Sindh is one and Sindh will remain one,” he said.

The MQM members, however, argued that the creation of new administrative units should not be confused with the division of Sindh. MQM member Rehan Akram said the 1973 Constitution laid down the procedure for creating provinces.

He pointed out that new administrative districts had already been created in Karachi. “If Karachi was not divided by the creation of districts, then how can the province be divided?” he asked. He recalled that the Talpur rulers had established states in Sindh and that the State of Khairpur continued to exist during British rule.

“Sindh is one and Sindh will remain one. The creation of administrative units will not divide Sindh,” he said. PPP member Raja Razaq Baloch said he did not accept the division of Sindh. “Our destruction and decline have been caused by such intellectuals,” he said, adding that people were being misled in the name of administrative units.

“As long as even one true son of Sindh remains, Sindh will not be divided,” he said. He said Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and G.M. Syed were both Sindhis and that Pakistan had been created by the people of Sindh. “There will be no compromise on the division of Sindh, nor will we allow anyone to occupy Sindh’s resources,” he said.

MQM member Shariq Jamal said Sindh was his homeland and Pakistan was his country. He said the country had been divided into four provinces to provide a better administrative system. “If cities, districts and divisions can exist in Sindh, why can’t administrative units be created?” he asked.

He questioned why a resolution on the creation of new provinces had not been brought before the assembly. Shariq Jamal said the call for new provinces had not come from the MQM but from Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and asked the PPP to oppose him instead.

“If the people of Sindh want good governance, they will have to support us,” he said. “What kind of argument is it that we will not allow administrative units to be created?” he asked. MQM member Adil Askari questioned why the issue of division was being raised repeatedly through resolutions.

“PPP people do not want to correct their governance,” he said. He said Sindh was one, but the 60:40 quota system had been introduced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. “We will not allow the unity of Sindh to be harmed,” he said.

“I am a son of Sindh,” Askari said, adding that the bureaucracy in Sindh had become politicised. He also questioned why the assembly did not pass a resolution against Sindhudesh. “Will you bring a resolution against Sindhudesh?” he asked.

Askari said Sindh could be divided into South Sindh and West Sindh. He also called for a census to be conducted under the supervision of the army, saying this would make the facts clear. MQM member Amir Siddiqui said, “We are also sons of Sindh and Sindh is our mother.”

“No one wants Sindh to be divided, but you have failed to resolve Sindh’s problems,” he said, accusing the PPP of hiding behind its popular vote. “We say Karachi is the mother of Sindh. You people have separated Karachi from Sindh,” he said.

PPP member Fayyaz Butt said no son or daughter of Sindh would allow the province to be divided. “Love for your homeland is a sign of a true believer,” he said. PPP member Dr Sikandar Shoro said they would continue to protect Sindh “as long as the last drop of our blood remains.” “Every child of Sindh says that we will not allow any conspiracy to divide Sindh to succeed,” he said. The debate was still continuing when the Sindh Assembly was adjourned until 2pm on Tuesday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026