KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has announced a nationwide campaign for the creation of new provinces, with party chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui declaring that a major rally will be held towards Sharae Faisal on November 29.
Addressing a general workers’ meeting in PIB Colony on Sunday, Siddiqui said urban Sindh had a strong case for a separate province and that his party would lead the campaign for what it described as the rights of the people.
Demand for New Provinces
Siddiqui said new provinces should be established wherever population levels and administrative requirements justified their creation.
“New provinces should be created wherever there is a demand and a need based on population,” he said, calling on people to take to the streets to press for their demands.
Responding to questions about the proposed province’s geographical boundaries, he said migrants had brought their share of land with them when they moved to Pakistan after leaving their properties in India.
He also claimed that properties left behind by non-Muslims in Pakistan legally belonged to the migrants.
November 29 March
Announcing the planned rally, Siddiqui said an MQM-P convoy would move towards Sharae Faisal on November 29. He claimed that routes leading to the city’s main artery would be blocked once the procession began.
“People across Pakistan are looking towards MQM and telling us to move forward, assuring us of their support,” he said.
He also warned opponents against threatening the party over its demand for new provinces, saying MQM-P was prepared to face resistance.
MQM-P Calls for National Dialogue on Creation of New Provinces
Reference to Past Violence
Recalling incidents including the September 30, 1986 violence in Hyderabad, the Sohrab Goth incident and the Qasba-Aligarh tragedy, Siddiqui said the party’s movement had endured numerous challenges and would continue despite opposition.
Party Leaders’ Statements
MQM-P leader Wasim Akhtar said the meeting consisted only of workers from District East and did not represent the entire city.
“Bilawal should come and see that these are only workers from District East, not the entire Karachi,” he said.
Akhtar claimed that Karachi was increasingly aligning itself with MQM-P and that the slogan emerging from the city would eventually reach Islamabad.
Meanwhile, Dr Farooq Sattar said the party’s struggle concerned Pakistan’s population of around 260 million people, who, he alleged, continued to face injustice.
He criticised the performance of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, arguing that it had failed to deliver improvements in economic growth and public services.
Sattar said education and healthcare facilities remained inadequate, roads were in poor condition and basic municipal services, including garbage collection, were lacking.
The announcement signals MQM-P’s intention to turn its demand for new provinces into a nationwide political campaign, beginning with the planned November 29 march in Karachi.
