Amid escalating tensions between the Centre and Sindh and various factions calling for carving more units out of the province - especially making Karachi a separate administrative unit - the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took to the streets on Wednesday, voicing opposition to such ideas.
Rallying outside the Karachi Press Club with party workers, PPP leaders censured the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan for "scheming to split the province."
"Sindh is Karachi, and Karachi is Sindh," said PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. "We will not let any city in Sindh become a colony of Islamabad."
Addressing the prime minister, he warned him against "threatening the Sindh chief minister and considering the division of the province." Threatening the Centre of a similar rebuttal in Islamabad otherwise, the leader also warned of launching protests movements if "scheming against Sindh is not stopped."
Dubbing those intending to split Sindh the "enemies of Pakistan," Khuhro accused the Centre of eyeing Karachi's revenues and wanting to reduce Sindh's share in the National Finance Commission.
"This is why they [the PTI] are dreaming of controlling Karachi," the PPP leader claimed. "But attacking Sindh is akin to attacking Pakistan."
Addressing the PTI and MQM-P, Khuhro said they should abstain from kindling hatred, adding that by seeking a new province, "the MQM-P intended to violate the Constitution."
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, too, slammed the MQM-P for making the demand for a new province. "They want to fan the flames of hatred and gain political advantage," he said. "While the party may not have dissociated itself from its founder’s mentality, Sindh's people do not want a split."
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2020.
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