Mustafa Kamal says new administrative unit in Sindh will not lead to violence

Speaking in Karachi, Kamal said people speaking different languages in Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban areas of Sindh have been living together in a spirit of brotherhood. He said if the existing problems and deprivations were going to trigger violence, the situation would have already deteriorated.

Kamal said an impression was being created that the creation of new administrative units would lead Urdu-speaking residents of Karachi to adopt an inappropriate attitude towards their Sindhi brothers and result in violence or unrest. He termed such fears unfounded.

He criticised the Sindh government, saying Karachi's young people were not being provided government jobs. He claimed that even during 18 years of government, not a single government job as a peon had been provided to them.

He also expressed concerns over the quota system. The MQM-P leader alleged that young people in Karachi lose their lives in different incidents, with some dying in traffic accidents and others being shot during incidents involving the snatching of small amounts of money or mobile phones.

Kamal said Karachi's residents were not being provided drinking water, better roads and basic civic facilities. He said the city had been dug up, while the issue of bribery existed in various government departments and businesspeople were also asked for bribes.

He said if these problems were going to cause unrest, it would have happened by now. He also referred to public health problems in different parts of Sindh and incidents involving the spread of AIDS among children, saying these issues had not resulted in such unrest either.

Kamal said Karachi continued to face problems including poor sewerage, shortages in electricity and gas, deteriorating roads and a lack of drinking water. He added that the K-IV water project had also remained incomplete for a long time.

He alleged that in the past, political interests had been served by creating divisions between Sindhis and Muhajirs, Muhajirs and Pashtuns, Baloch and Pashtuns, and residents of Lyari and Ranchore Line.

He said this politics caused citizens to forget their demands for basic issues including employment, education and healthcare., people had repeatedly been pitted against one another for political purposes so that they remained concerned about the safety of their lives and property and forgot basic needs such as water, jobs, medicines and schools.

Kamal made it clear that the demand for new administrative units was not against any ethnic group or language but was aimed at improving administrative affairs. He said Pakistan needed administrative units capable of resolving people's problems at their doorstep.

He further said that if the nation needed it, he and his colleagues were ready to make sacrifices at any time and place. The remarks come amid an ongoing political debate over new provinces and administrative units.

MQM-P has intensified its campaign for new administrative structures, while the Sindh Assembly recently passed a resolution rejecting moves to divide Sindh or create new provinces.