“Attempts to sever Karachi from Sindh run counter to history and the constitutional spirit,” says CM Murad Ali Shah, as tensions simmer over the city’s political future
By Shaheen Hashim
KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Saturday passed a strongly worded resolution rejecting any proposal to carve Karachi out as a separate province, declaring the sprawling port city an “integral and inseparable” part of Sindh amid rising political friction following last month’s devastating Gul Plaza fire.
The resolution was tabled by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who used the floor of the House to denounce what he described as “divisive statements” seeking to break up the province or detach its capital. In measured but pointed remarks, he said any attempt to redraw Sindh’s territorial boundaries ran counter to history, the spirit of the Constitution, democratic norms and, crucially, the will of the province’s people.
“This House unequivocally condemns and rejects any conspiracy aimed at division of Sindh or creation of a separate province comprising Karachi,” he said, as lawmakers from the treasury benches thumped their desks in approval. Karachi, he added, “is, and shall forever remain, an integral and inseparable part of Sindh”. Shortly afterwards, a message posted from the chief minister’s official account on X sought to underline the symbolism of the vote.
“Sindh’s unity is sacred,” it read. “Karachi is inseparable from Sindh — yesterday, today, and forever.” The resolution came in direct response to calls from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to declare Karachi a federal territory under Articles 148 and 149 of the Constitution. The demand followed the catastrophic blaze at Gul Plaza earlier this month, which left at least 73 people dead and scores injured.
The inferno, which erupted on 17 January, raged for nearly two days before being brought under control, gutting around 1,200 shops and exposing what critics described as glaring failures in urban regulation and emergency response.
MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar went further, urging Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, to remove the chief minister, Karachi mayor Murtaza Wahab and senior minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over what he termed administrative negligence surrounding the disaster.
