PA again rejects Sindh split, but opp pushes devolution

Treasury lawmakers in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday again rejected the idea of dividing Sindh, while opposition members said they too opposed the province's division but called for administrative reforms, greater devolution and stronger local governments to address poor governance.

They were participating in a debate on an adjournment motion against the division of Sindh on Tuesday. Treasury members insisted that neither the PPP nor the people of Sindh would accept Sindh's division in any form.

LG Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said Khuhro had adopted the constitutional route by bringing the matter before the assembly and urged MPAs to send a united message that "Sindh will not be divided".

He played an audio clip of Mustafa Kamal in the assembly in which the latter opposed the division of Sindh.

The opposition, however, maintained that opposing the division of Sindh did not mean rejecting the demand for administrative reform. Iftikhar Alam said his party was not seeking to break up Sindh or oppose any ethnic group. Instead, he said, the debate over administrative units should be viewed from the perspective of governance.

The opposition argued that converting existing divisions into administrative units could improve resource distribution and governance.