Karachi will remain part of Sindh, PA passes resolution unanimously

KARACHI: The chief minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has tabled and secured unanimous approval for a resolution condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up the province or separating Karachi as a separate entity.

Addressing the Sindh Assembly, Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the province’s unity and territorial integrity were non-negotiable and constitutionally protected.

He said Sindh was “not merely an administrative unit but one of the world’s oldest living civilisations”, tracing its history from Mohenjo-Daro to the Sindh Legislative Assembly that passed the Pakistan Resolution in 1943.

“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” he stressed.

The Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah has strongly condemned calls for carving out Karachi as a separate province, arguing that the city – historically known as Kolachi – emerged from Sindh’s soil and remains geographically, historically and emotionally inseparable from it.

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

Citing Article 239 of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, the chief minister Sindh said any change to provincial boundaries requires the approval of not less than two-thirds of the concerned provincial assembly. “If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly – by a two-thirds majority – that will decide,” he said.

The resolution unanimously condemned “any conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi” and reaffirmed that the city would “forever remain” an integral part of the province.

It also directed the provincial government to forward the resolution to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leaders for record.

Without naming any political party, Murad Ali Shah 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.

CM Murad Ali Shah pointed out the shifting stance of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). He reminded the House that in 2019, a similar unanimous resolution against the division of Sindh was passed, and at that time, MQM stood in support. “The members of MQM cannot play on both sides of the fence,” he remarked.

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