• PTI and JI support PPP resolution declaring Karachi ‘integral, inseparable part of province’
• MQM-P says resolution contradicts Constitution having clear provision for creation of new provinces
• Murad urges all political stakeholders to refrain from divisive rhetoric

KARACHI: Amid strong protest and opposition from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Sindh Assembly on Saturday passed, by a majority vote, a resolution condemning any conspiracy to divide Sindh and affirming that Karachi was an inseparable part of the province.

While MQM-P lawmakers argued that the resolution, tabled by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, contradicted the Constitution, other opposition members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) supported it.

Opening the debate on his strongly worded resolution, the chief minister condemned calls for carving out Karachi as a separate province and said the city remained geographically, historically and emotionally inseparable from Sindh.

“Any attempt to divide Sindh or detach Karachi is contrary to history, the constitutional spirit and democratic norms,” he said, adding that such rhetoric harms national cohesion.

The chief minister cited Article 239 of the Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of the concerned provincial assembly for any alteration of provincial boundaries. “If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he told lawmakers.

The chief minister recalled that a similar resolution had been passed by the Sindh Assembly in 1994, emphasising that this was “not the first time” the province had resisted attempts to undermine its unity.

The resolution unanimously condemned “any conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi,” reaffirmed that Karachi shall “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh, and called on all political stakeholders to refrain from divisive rhetoric.

It further directed the provincial government to forward the resolution to the president, prime minister, the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker for the record.

Without naming any political party, the chief minister said the resolution targeted no individual but urged members to read it carefully and raise objections, if any, through democratic debate. “Opposing this resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh,” he remarked.

Concluding his speech, he declared: “Even the thought, dream or idea of breaking Sindh will never succeed.”

Opposition leader blames PPP for division

Strongly opposing the resolution, Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Ali Khurshidi of the MQM-P said that no conspiracy was hatched to divide the province.

“All this is just a sham,” he added.

He said that Karachi is the capital of the province and that the PPP itself divided the city by carving out Malir, Korangi and Keamari districts.

“You [PPP] divided the city, and you are the ones dividing the province,” he snapped.

Referring to a recent programme held at the Governor House, he said that the future of Karachi was discussed there.

MQM-P parliamentary party leader Taha Ahmed said that the resolution contradicted the Constitution, which had the provision of creating new provinces in the country.

“When the Constitution gives a procedure for creating new provinces, how can we not talk about them,” he asked and said it was tantamount to suppressing the right to freedom of expression.

However, the CM while responding to criticism categorically rejected claims that the resolution was unconstitutional, challenging opponents to identify even a single point that violated the law.

“If you want to ensure that Sindh is never divided, you must support this resolution,” he told the assembly, clarifying that the document was a clear stance on the province’s territorial integrity.

He recalled that in 2019, a similar unanimous resolution against the division of Sindh was passed, and at that time, the MQM stood in support. “The members of MQM cannot play on both sides of the fence,” he remarked.

PTI’s parliamentary party leader Shabbir Quershi said that the PTI was not in favour of dividing Sindh in the past and they were not today either.

He said that sometimes it felt like Sindh might break apart, but the reality was that Sindh would not divide.

He said that people in Karachi were being discriminated against in jobs. “If this discrimination ends, there will be no need to bring such resolutions,” he said.

Supporting the resolution, the lone JI member Muhammad Farooq said that the Constitution already outlined how provinces could be divided.

He, however said, those in power had done nothing for Karachi.

The JI member said that the JI did not promote ethnic division, and such matters should be discussed with care.

He said that development must reach Karachi and other cities in the province, and the quota system should be revisited.

Provincial ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon and Jam Khan Shoro, PTI’s Sajjad Soomro, PPP’s Sadia Javed and Ajaz Khan and MQM-P’s Aamir Siddiqui also spoke on the resolution.

Later, the house was prorogued.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2026