The bill on the creation of new provinces, tabled in the National Assembly by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), has stirred up a hornet’s nest in Sindh. The party wants to pave way for the formation of Hazara and Seraiki provinces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, respectively. However, many in Sindh, particularly the nationalists, are convinced that this is actually a ploy by the MQM to clear the path for the creation of a “Mohajir province”. Even the MQM’s coalition partners in Sindh made it clear during a provincial assembly session that they are uncomfortable with the proposed bill.
The bone of contention here is Clause 4 of the Constitution’s Article 239. In the bill, the MQM has proposed that it should be deleted.
According to Clause 4, “A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.” As this would apply to all provinces, many are bound to be perturbed. The MQM has vehemently denied that it seeks division of Sindh, but that is unlikely to make any difference.
The dilemma for the MQM is that it is persistently haunted by the spectre of “Jinnahpur”.
No matter what the party says or does, it just cannot seem to shed off the ethnic party label. It changed its name from Mohajir to Muttahida, it is trying to make inroads into other parts of the country and its chief Altaf Hussain is often seen donning a Sindhi cap and ajrak, but the inconclusive “revelations” of 1992 are still holding back the party.
There might be no “mala fide intent” behind MQM’s new provinces proposal, but the fact remains that exclusion of Clause 4 can eventually lead to the consequences that are being feared.
Let’s face it. There is an urban-rural divide in Sindh. Karachi is a conglomerate of cultures… a city of migrants. It differs greatly from the rest of the province in terms of mindset, education and lifestyle.
It is quite common for a resident of Karachi to say “Karachi and Sindh” instead of “Karachi and the rest of Sindh”. In fact, even the TV news channels based in the city keep making this mistake. What is merely regarded as the “interior” is more than 90 percent of the province. The bias definitely exists.
The MQM has argued in the bill that administrative inconvenience as well as cultural and social diversity necessitates more provinces.
The reservations of the nationalists cannot be disregarded when all the ingredients for the new province recipe are present in Sindh.
The bias and the urban-rural division has not been created by the MQM. It was the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that created a permanent division in Sindh by introducing separate quotas for urban Sindh and Rural Sindh.
The people living in the Urban areas have been persistently discriminated in government services and administration. The MQM changed all this as it gave a voice to the legitimate political rights of the people living in urban areas.
The burden of abolishing the urban-rural division rests on others and not the MQM. There is no such division in other three provinces.
I am definite, that this column is written by someone who is born and raised outside Karachi, Sind and well infact let me make things easier for other reader the column show typical Upper and central Punjab’s mentality , as I can smell that hatred and biasness, Please sudhar jao Mujeeb ne sirf provincial autonomy mangi thi tum se , Jab zabardasti one unit bana ke chaudry banaye hoye thay west Pakistan ke, Jab provincial autonomy ki baat ki tu tum se gawara na hoa jo ke 1940 mai Pakistan resolution ka aik juz hai , result kiya nikala us ka Akhir kar mulk deana para. Abhi bhi waqt hai Insaf aur aqal ke na khon lo. There should be more provinces and there should be provincial autonomy among them.
Now this is exactly how our illiterate mindset drives us nervously. Why in the world the MQM would try to divide Sindh when it never demanded the same in the midst of the crackdown on it back in 1992? Why the hell MQM would make such a move when it has been advocating for unity and brotherhood between the permanent citizens of Sindh? And above all, it was the so called Haqiqi group who demanded for a separate province for Mohajirs, not the MQM. Irony is that the same Haqiqi is hand and gloves with the Sindhi nationalists including Zulfiqar Mirza, and no hue and cry from any corner???? Sindhis and Mohajirs must both understand that there’s no need for detaching from each other as long as equal rights and opportunities amicably dispensed.
Mr Nasir Jamal sb, quota was not for the urdu speaking and sindhi speaking people, that was just for the people, to upgrade them which faced poor education system in rural areas, this is clear in Sindh every person should live as Sindhi, here is no place for any one who is anyone, he has to left Sindh, no room for any Jinnah pur or any so called Muhajir provice here.
Im grateful for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
the pakistani establishment has a fear in their mind that if Muttahida succeed in making jinnahpur then karachi will be in full control of mutahidda which is considerd a pressure group not a political party, who might take a lion share in import export.
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