PA digs in as 'new provinces' debate enters third day

MQM says it wants better governance, not a new province

KARACHI:

As the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday continued its debate for a third consecutive day on the creation of new administrative units, treasury and opposition lawmakers united in opposing the division of Sindh but sharply divided over demands for better governance and more administrative structures.

The debate was held on an adjournment motion moved by PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. The session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Naveed Anthony, remained charged as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle exchanged emotionally worded arguments over the province's political and administrative future.

PPP lawmakers reiterated that Sindh was indivisible and vowed not to allow the province to become a "laboratory" for political experiments.

Universities Minister Ismail Rahu said it was unfortunate that the assembly was having to debate the division of Sindh. He questioned the rationale behind initiating discussion on such a sensitive issue through television programmes.

"We do not accept or tolerate the division of Sindh in any form," Rahu said, demanding that those advocating administrative units clearly explain their proposal.

Agriculture and Sports Minister Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Maher accused some industrialists and political leaders of raising the issue of new provinces despite having limited public support. Anyone discussing Sindh's future must first understand its history, he added.

Opposition lawmakers, however, sought to distinguish between dividing Sindh and creating additional administrative units.

MQM-P lawmakers Qurat-ul-Ain and Farhan Ansari said their party had never called for the breakup of Sindh. Qurat-ul-Ain argued that Pakistan's population of around 250 million warranted more administrative units, citing Türkiye and the United States as examples of countries with multiple administrative jurisdictions.

"Administrative units can improve governance. We are not talking about dividing Sindh," she said.

Farhan Ansari said Urdu-speaking residents were as much Sindhi and Pakistani as anyone else, adding that the reasons behind growing demands for administrative reforms needed to be addressed rather than dismissed.