Court issues notices in Sindh division case

SHC seeks replies from interior, defence secretaries, chief secretary by May 8

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices on Wednesday to the provincial chief secretary, federal defence secretary and federal interior secretary as well as the deputy attorney-general and advocate-general of Sindh in a petition seeking to divide Sindh into seven separate states.

A two-member bench heard the petition filed by Azmat Wali, who maintained that the federal and the provincial governments have failed to meet public expectations by not fulfilling their responsibilities.

"The current system of governance does not provide an atmosphere for improvement," the petition read, demanding the authorities divide Sindh into seven autonomous states - Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Larkana, Sukkur and Jacobabad.



He requested that Karachi should be considered the head of the smaller states. "In Muslim countries, as well as in Europe, there is no state that has a population exceeding five million," the petitioner claimed. "Pakistan can achieve prosperity by creating smaller autonomous states. The charge for the autonomous states should be given to commissioners."



Justice Aqeel Abbasi said that while the petition seemed to have been filed with good intents, the matter entailed several political issues that need to be discussed. The country's situation is sensitive, he said, adding that it is unfortunate that we distrust each other. The creation of new states can sometimes worsen the situation, he observed.

The court directed the respondents to submit their replies by May 8.