Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said that Field Marshal Asim Munir stated three years ago that Pakistan would inevitably require administrative division to improve governance.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Saturday, Kamal said the country’s current administrative structure was no longer capable of meeting the needs of its growing population. He argued that Pakistan could not continue functioning effectively under the existing four-province system and called for new administrative provinces to ensure better governance and service delivery.
Kamal said the MQM-P would launch a constitutional and democratic movement against what he described as the continued neglect of Karachi. He announced that the party would take its campaign to the streets after exhausting parliamentary and legal avenues.
“We spoke in the assemblies, but no one listened. We proposed constitutional amendments, but they were rejected. Now, we will exercise our constitutional right to protest peacefully alongside the people,” he said.
Referring to the country’s administrative challenges, Kamal said Pakistan had reached a stage where administrative restructuring had become unavoidable. He added that Field Marshal Asim Munir had made a similar observation three years ago, saying administrative division in Pakistan was inevitable.
Criticising the distribution of federal funds, Kamal said the federation allocated approximately Rs8.4 trillion among the provinces, with Sindh receiving around Rs2.2 trillion. However, he alleged that the funds failed to reach districts such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Larkana, remaining concentrated at the provincial level.
He also accused the Sindh government of failing to implement the spirit of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, arguing that genuine devolution of powers to local governments had not taken place.
Reiterating MQM-P’s stance, Kamal said the party would support all constitutional measures aimed at decentralising authority, including the creation of new provinces on an administrative basis to improve governance and public service delivery.
Earlier, a key security meeting stressed the creation of new provinces to deal with security challenges and to reset the country’s outdated administrative system.
It is pertinent to mention that the new provinces in the country would make the federal government stronger, and the distribution of the sources would be more equitable.
The meeting also highlighted that better administrative management would help promote balanced regional development, reduce disparities among different areas, and improve access to government services. According to the sources, participants agreed that any future administrative reforms should be carried out in accordance with the Constitution and through broad political consensus to ensure long-term stability and national unity.
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