Mustafa Kamal says Lahore is 50 years ahead of Karachi, demands new provinces

KARACHI: Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday called for the creation of new administrative provinces, saying Pakistan could no longer function effectively under its existing administrative structure.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Kamal said the establishment of new provinces had become inevitable and vowed to support any initiative aimed at administrative reforms.

“The country cannot be run under the current system. We will support anyone who advocates the creation of administrative provinces,” he said.

Kamal said Karachi had been deprived of its fair share of public funds despite being the country’s economic hub.

He claimed that over the past 18 years, the federal and provincial governments collected a combined Rs22 trillion, including tax revenues, but Karachi received only Rs680 billion, amounting to around three percent of the total.

“Had the previous system remained in place, Karachi would have directly received around Rs2 trillion over the past 18 years,” he said, alleging that the city’s financial rights had been usurped after changes made under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award in 2010.

According to Kamal, before 2010 the federal government transferred funds directly to districts, but the provinces later sought to receive those allocations through the NFC Award, after which Karachi allegedly stopped receiving its due share.

He further alleged that funds allocated to Sindh had failed to reach the people and remained concentrated at the provincial level.

Karachi: Gulshan-e-Iqbal residents forced to drink polluted water

Kamal argued that if adequate development funds had been provided, Karachi would have witnessed major improvements in roads, schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure.

Comparing the country’s two largest cities, Kamal said Lahore had moved “50 years ahead” of Karachi in terms of development.

“We are happy for Lahore’s progress, but Karachi has been left far behind,” he said. “While there is discussion of introducing air ambulances in another city, Karachi is being provided with bicycle ambulances.”

The MQM-P leader accused the Sindh government of neglecting Karachi and failing to provide basic services, including clean drinking water, quality education and healthcare.

He said many schools lacked basic facilities, including washrooms for girls, and alleged that millions of children in Sindh remained out of school. He also highlighted issues such as child deaths caused by dog bites and accidents involving uncovered sewer drains.

Kamal announced that MQM-P would launch a public movement while remaining within the framework of the Constitution and the law.

“We have raised these issues in Parliament and even presented a constitutional amendment bill, but our concerns have not been addressed,” he said. “Now we will take our struggle to the streets while remaining within the Constitution and the law.”