Mustafa Kamal says 18th Amendment created 'four countries' instead of empowering provinces

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Saturday said the 18th Amendment had created “four new countries” within Pakistan, rather than empowering the four provinces.

“I say again and again that this 18th Amendment has not given power to four provinces, but has made four countries. This 18th Amendment has made four new countries,” Kamal said while speaking at a press conference at the MQM headquarters in Bahadurabad, Karachi.

Lamenting the impact of the 18th Amendment, Kamal said that it had “completely liberated” Sindh, questioning why the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would declare independence when it received Rs2.5 billion annually from the federal treasury.

“You say the country will break, but the country is broken. Your 18th Amendment has broken the country. We want to re-establish this country,” he said.

“After the 18th Amendment, rivers of blood are flowing, instead of the promised rivers of milk,” Kamal added.

He said the federal government had made a mistake by leaving provincial governments “to their own devices” after devolving powers to them.

He also criticised the central government for transferring all institutions and responsibilities to the provinces.

“Even Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, which was run by the federal government, has been taken over by the provincial authorities.”

Kamal spoke primarily about MQM-P’s demand for the creation of new provinces, particularly the division of Sindh into additional administrative units.

The MQM-P leader said his party wanted to “reunite” the country rather than divide it. He maintained that the creation of new provinces would provide greater administrative access and representation to marginalised communities.

The federal minister said opposition to new provinces was either based on ideological grounds or vested interests. According to him, some opponents of new provinces “do not even acknowledge Pakistan”, while others were resisting the proposal because of their own interests.

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He emphasised that the creation of new provinces should not be portrayed as a harbinger of violence.

“Those who say that new provinces will lead to bloodshed are completely wrong,” he stressed.

Kamal also rejected the argument that the demand for new provinces was directed against Sindhis. He said the people of Sindh were “brothers and sisters” and argued that the distinction between “Sindhi and Mohajir (immigrant)” should no longer be used to promote prejudice.

He reminded the Sindh government that the Constitution introduced by PPP founder and former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto outlined the provision for dividing provinces.

The MQM-P leader argued that the Sindh government had failed in providing relief to the people, adding that the current ground reality exposes the immense suffering of the citizens.

He quoted examples of children dying after falling into open manholes, shortage of potable water and other problems plaguing Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

He also criticised the Sindh government over what he described as failures in public services and development projects.

Referring to the Yellow Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, he alleged that funds provided by the World Bank had been “misused” and subsequently returned by the provincial government.

The Yellow Line BRT project spanning over 21 kilometres, from Dawood Chowrangi to Numaish Chowrangi, has suffered constant setbacks. Two months earlier, Senior Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon, acknowledging the delay, had asked all relevant authorities to remove all utility-related bottlenecks to ensure early completion of the project.

Kamal also spoke on the government’s delayed response to the Gul Plaza fire incident that took the lives of at least 80 people.

“The building continued to burn for five days, and the mayor decided to visit the site two days after the incident was first reported,” he alleged during the speech.

The federal minister also expressed reservations about the rights of farmers and other marginalised groups in Sindh and said his party would work for the uplift of these people after the new administrative units proposed by the government offer more room for participation.

“New provinces would bring greater empowerment to the people of Sindh.”

He opined that the people of Sindh were among the most vulnerable sections of society, while pointing out that kidnappings and consequent protests by affected families confirmed his viewpoint.

The federal minister further claimed that violence that had once plagued Karachi had ended, attributing the change to MQM-P. He said the party abandoned its own leader, Altaf Hussain, when it realised that it was in “public interest”.

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Responding to questions about the federal government, Kamal said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was putting in all efforts to help the public despite constraints. He highlighted that the country was heavily indebted and the federal government was bound to comply with conditions attached to loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Those who provide loans also impose conditions,” he said, adding that unemployment had increased even before the IMF's involvement.

When probed about the stance of the Punjab government on the creation of new provinces, Kamal said, “Their silence meant consent.” He added that Punjab authorities were governed by “sensible people”.

Kamal also spoke about the recent flurry of attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthis.

Expressing solidarity with the Saudi people and condemning attacks against the kingdom, he said MQM-P stood with the government and the armed forces and was ready to act on any instruction received from the state.

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