Federal Minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Mustafa Kamal on Saturday announced that his party would launch street protests against what it described as the Sindh government’s unequal treatment of Karachi and other urban centres, while renewing its demand for the creation of new provinces and greater devolution of powers.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Kamal said the MQM-P had exhausted all constitutional and democratic avenues to raise the city’s concerns but had received no meaningful response.
“We have used all democratic tools at hand. We spoke on the assembly floor and presented constitutional amendments, but they did not agree to our demands. Now we will take this protest to the streets,” he said.
Rejecting allegations of separatism, Kamal said the party’s demand for new provinces was fully consistent with Pakistan’s Constitution.
“Our party does not have a separatist agenda like those operating in Balochistan. We seek new provinces under the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.
Kamal said the MQM-P would pursue its campaign through constitutional and democratic means, relying on facts and data rather than confrontational politics.
“There will be no escape from this. We will fight and win this argument,” he said.
The minister argued that Karachi, despite being Pakistan’s economic hub, had been denied its fair share of public resources.
He claimed the city contributed nearly 50% of federal revenue and about 95% of Sindh’s revenue, but had received only Rs680 billion out of Rs22 trillion allocated for Karachi over the past 18 years.
“Karachi is a victim of injustice, and this is also an injustice to Pakistan,” Kamal said.
He added that before 2010, the federal government directly compensated Karachi for tax collection, and that prior to the Seventh National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, the city received one-sixth of the General Sales Tax (GST) collected within its jurisdiction.