HYDERABAD: PPP Sindh chapter President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should respond to the demands of some federal ministers for handing over Karachi to the federal government and creation of more provinces in Sindh.

The PM should speak on that issue, otherwise, he would equally be at fault; thus such prime ministerial clarification was awaited, he said while addressing a news conference on Wednesday at the newly-established divisional party secretariat by Hyderabad division president Aajiz Dhamra in Civil Lines.

Mr Khuhro said it was pretty useless to talk about more provinces. But, he said, those talking about the provinces or wanted federal control over Karachi were in fact toeing the line of those advocating ‘One Unit’. He said it was a ‘One Unit’ regime when the provinces’ identity was snatched.

Being critical of the fact that nonissues were being raised for Karachi, he said that the proposal was in fact ‘One-Unit’ mindset which deprived provinces of their identity. He said there was no provision for the federal government to take control of any city and added that provision for creation of a new province was to be supported by a resolution with two-third majority by the concerned assembly.

He noted that those narratives would unnecessarily cause provocation among people because there was great sensitivity over Sindh’s integrity. He said that such provision would unnecessarily vitiate a peaceful political environment, therefore, it should be avoided at best so that there should be no reaction on that issue.

Mr Khuhro said when the federal ministers talked about those matters, the prime minister should intervene and clarify them. “I don’t absolve the PM of his responsibility in this regard and he will be considered equally at fault if such clarification doesn’t come. I am waiting for such prime ministerial clarification,” he said.

He said the KPK chief minister visited Sindh, which reflected a lack of confidence on the party’s central leadership and workers. He added that the Feb 8 strike call was fizzled out.

The PPP leader said that in fact the PTI leader missed no opportunity for facing embarrassment and getting himself exposed.

New canals’ issue

When asked about the fate of the Technical Committee formed in the April 2025 meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) (convened on the request of the PPP in the wake of continued agitation in Sindh) to decide the canal issue, Mr Khuhro said he was not aware of its details but it was formed to see how water could be conserved in the agriculture sector and more area could be brought under cultivation to enhance productivity.

He termed the CCI decision a great achievement last year in the backdrop of new canals’ issue and said that earlier the CCI used to take decisions on the basis of majority of votes, but in the April’s meeting, it resolved that no new canal would be built if any single province raised question over it.

“To me, the CCI in fact gave a veto power to each province through this decision which is a major step,” he said. He said the Technical Committee was indeed formed by the CCI in the same meeting, but no details were available whether it did some work or not.

He said Sindh had already questioned Chashma-Jhelum link canal and Greater Thal Canal because those were detrimental to provincial water interests.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026