MQM-P says will be approaching other parties to set off 'grand national dialogue' on new provinces

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) announced on Sunday that it was taking the initiative to begin a “grand national dialogue” on the creation of new provinces and approaching other political parties for talks. MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui made the announcement at a press conference in Karachi, where he stressed the need for a grand national dialogue on the matter. He said his party had been contending that the creation of existing provinces in Pakistan did not meet all legal merits and had a linguistic basis. He continued his argument, adding that more provinces were needed in the country, because just like districts and divisions, these too were administrative units. “We have been saying for the past 40 years [..] that Pakistan’s existing provinces were not created in accordance with law and were made based on linguistic grounds,” he said, adding that the country’s growing population also presented the need for the creation of administrative units. Siddiqui expressed gratitude that political parties were choosing to favour MQM-P’s “long-standing” demand for more provinces. He said that the objective of Sunday’s press conference was to “give people the message that, regardless of your political demands, start a dialogue with each other”. He advised that political parties should engage in a “national dialogue” where their suggestions and reservations could be taken into account, adding that MQM-P was willing to take the lead. “Wherever there is support for new provinces, we will stand with that voice,” he said and went on to clarify that MQM-P was not asking for new administrative units only in Sindh but across the country; however, he noted that the case for provinces remained “strongest” in Sindh. The MQM-P chairman also spoke of Article 140-A, which, inserted through the 18th Amendment in 2010, requires provinces to devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to elected local representatives. “We took part in the sin of the 18th Amendment [so] that a common Pakistani can reap the fruits of democracy through Article 140-A,” he said; however, he lamented its lack of implementation. Noting that there had been chatter about Article 140-A, he recalled that the party had moved the Supreme Court against the lack of implementation, “which issued a detailed ruling on the subject, which was applicable across the country”. Siddiqui held that the demand for stronger local governance was not limited to MQM-P and stressed that it had rather become a “need” for Pakistan. At this, he said that MQM-P did not have “even a single councillor” in union councils across the country and reiterated that the implementation of Article 140-A was “not just a party demand” but rather a “constitutional requirement”. He recalled that when MQM-P joined the coalition at the Centre, the party had one demand: “You must empower people to reap the fruits of democracy, meet constitutional requirements and implement SC’s decision.” Siddiqui questioned if the creation of additional provinces was such a “sin and an act of treason, then how is it mentioned in the constitution? “Yes, we can discuss the method for creating provinces, but we believe that giving provinces that right is a conflict of interest,” he said. “Who would willingly allow the division of their property?” he asked rhetorically. Concluding his address, the MQM-P chairman said the party will engage lawyers to urge the SC to take notice of the “desecration of its ruling”. The development comes in the wake of a controversial proposal recently put forward by Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi over the creation of new provinces in the country. Recently, while addressing the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026, the interior minister had urged all political parties to resolve various national issues, including the question of creating new provinces. He termed this the only solution to improving the country’s overall condition, which he said had “collapsed”. The issue gained momentum after the minister’s proposal drew strong reactions from government ministers, while the country’s leading lawyers’ bodies adopted divergent positions.